Stadia Testing System Where You Play Games Until You Unlock A Certain Achievement

Google Stadia has announced it will be testing a new game trial system that will allow users to play certain game demos until they unlock specific achievements.

Testing will be starting next week and it's been confirmed half of the players who have access to the trials for Control and Sniper Elite 4 are being invited to demo the game with access until they unlock certain achievements (via GameDeveloper) or hit a certain time limit.

Speaking to GameSpot, a Google representative confirmed there is still a time limit associated with the achievement-based demo system. It's generally up to developers to decide how long their demos are, meaning they could be longer than an hour in some instances. In Sniper Elite 4's case, for instance, it's 90 minutes.

Players involved will be split 50/50 so the Stadia team can monitor the effects of the new trial length metric, and with the new system, players will be allowed to play demos for an unlimited amount of time until they unlock certain achievements. With Sniper Elite 4, players will be able to trial the game until they complete the "Beginning of the End" achievement, which is attainable after completing the first mission.

Although players will have access to a game's demo, their progress is tied to their Google account, meaning they won't be able to restart it repeatedly. Rebellion North's head of studio Arden Aspinal said that he thinks players having access to Sniper Elite 4's unlimited demo would give players the opportunity to experience the game and series before they purchase.

"If some of these gamers then convert to full on Sniper Elite players and fans then that is fantastic, but at least we are offering as many people as possible the chance to give get some time with the game," he said.

Stadia senior product manager Karan Arora explained that the idea for the new trial system was inspired by the "meaningful achievements" created by developers "which illustrate what playing their games is all about."

"Giving development teams an effective opportunity to hone in on those impactful, memorable moments with new players is an exciting experiment for us," he said, "especially when it takes zero effort for the developer to switch on."

Arora added that Stadia wants to test out more trial options, using the example of an RPG demo where the player starts at level 100 instead of level 1.