Google held its first Stadia Connect, which was announced earlier in the week. Essentially, this is Google’s Stadia’s version of a Nintendo Direct. The presentation revealed new games, launch info, and more specifics on how Stadia works.
Gamers can play with Stadia in two ways. There is a premium subscription called Stadia Pro which “delivers the best of Stadia” for $9.99 a month. Stadia Pro will give gamers regular content that will be added to the Stadia library at the highest streaming quality. Another option is the Stadia Founder’s Edition. This pre-order option provides a custom, limited edition set of features and content. The Stadia Founder’s Edition includes a Chromecast Ultra, a limited edition Night Blue Stadia Controller, 3 months of Stadia Pro for you and a friend, and you will be able to be amongst the first to choose your exclusive Stadia name. The Stadia Founder’s Edition will be available in Belgium, Finland, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the USA. Google is also working towards bringing Stadia to additional countries in the future. The Stadia Founder’s Edition costs 129.99. Gamers are also able to use Stadia without a subscription with Stadia Base. You can just buy the game you want and you’ll be able to play them when you want where you want them.
Stadia games can be played on a TV, desktop, laptop, tablet, and smartphones. At launch, only Pixel smartphones will be able to use Stadia, but more smartphones and screens will be available to use Stadia in the future. The highest quality gaming experience for Stadia will include 4k, HDR Video, 60 fps, and 5.1 Surround sound. the recommended connection speed is 35 Mbps. The required minimum connection is 10 Mbps. At the minimum, gamers will get 720p, 60 fps, and Stereo sound. All you need to use Google Stadia is a controller and a screen. The best experience is with the Stadia controller which is designed specifically for streaming games but you can also play games with any supported controller or a mouse and keyboard. The Stadia controller connects directly to the game which is key for the highest possible performance. To play Stadia on a tv, you’ll need a Chromecast Ultra; to play on a laptop, desktop or tablet, you just need to open a chrome browser window; on smartphones, there will be a Stadia app.
The games that were announced to be playable with Stadia include Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Doom, Doom Eternal, The Division 2, the recent Tomb Raider trilogy, Final Fantasy XV, Darksiders Genesis, Metro Exodus and more. Also announced was a new game called Gylt, an adventure game from Tequila Works, and Get Packed from Moonshine Studios. Ghost Recon: Breakpoint was also announced and the new trailer showcased one of Stadia’s unique feature Stream Connect which allows players to see their teammate’s screens. Destiny 2 is another game that is coming to Stadia. Anyone who buys the Stadia Founder’s Edition will get the complete Destiny 2 experience as part of Stadia Pro, which also includes the upcoming expansion, Shadowkeep, which was leaked Furthermore, cross-save is coming to Destiny 2 which means you can take your Guardians across different platforms. Baldur’s Gate III was also officially confirmed after Larian Studios teased that the series was returning.