A few months ago Google revealed its ambitious cloud-based game streaming service named Stadia at a conference in San Francisco along with its own gaming studio – Stadia Games and Entertainment. But last week ahead of E3 it gave some of the most important information everyone was waiting for such as pricing, pre-order availability, and games which will be available at the initial launch.
Google will launch Stadia with two subscription models called Stadia Pro, Stadia Base, and Founder’s Edition as an initial launch.
Stadia Pro:
It will cost $9.99 per month which gives players access to the highest quality 4K, 60fps streaming with HDR and 5.1 surround sound with the requirement of 35Mbps of bandwidth and access to Stadia’s free catalog.
Stadia Base:
Stadia Base, a free model will be launched next year which is limited to 1080p 60fps with stereo sound. You can also use the existing controllers such as Xbox One or PlayStation DualShock 4 to play the titles.
Stadia Founders Edition:
Initially, the company is offering “Stadia Founders Edition” bundle that packages Stadia copy of Destiny 2, the limited edition night blue controller which alone costs $69, a Chromecast ultra which will allow players to play on their televisions and three months of the pro service for $130.
Games:
According to Google, the company is geared up with 31 games which come from 21 developers and publishers. Following are the games:
Bandai Namco – Dragon Ball Xenoverse – 2
Bethesda – Doom Eternal, Doom (2016), Wolfenstein: Youngblood, Rage 2, The Elder Scrolls Online
Bungie – Destiny -2
Capcom – TBA
Coatsink – Get Packed
Codemasters – Grid
Deep Silver – Metro Exodus
Drool – Thumper
Electronic Arts – TBA
Giants Software – Farming Simulator 19
Larian Studios – Baldur’s Gate III
nWay Games – Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid
Rockstar Games – TBA
Sega – Football Manager
SNK – Samurai Shodown
Square Enix – Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy XV
2K Games – NBA 2K, Borderlands – 3
Tequila Works – Gylt
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment – Mortal Kombat 11
THQ – Darksiders Genesis
Ubisoft – Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, Just Dance, Trials Rising, Tom Clancy’s The Division – 2, The Crew – 2, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint
Playing stadia on mobile devices will be restricted to Pixel 3 and Pixel 3A at launch but you can play in the Chrome browser on your Mac. It will be expanded to other phones over time and probably to other hardware. It is still unclear what Google is going to do with multiplayer titles.
At launch, Stadia will be available in the following countries: USA, UK, Canada, Belgium, Finland, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden.