Google Stadia: Release Date and Everything You Need To Know

Google Stadia is a cloud-streaming service that allows you to play video games over the internet without having to download full copies of the game or have a physical disc. Met with both skepticism and interest, Stadia has no physical console and instead can be played on any device that has an internet and the Google Chrome browser. So how can you get your hands on Google Stadia and what kind of games can you actually play? Let's take a look!

Google Stadia

Imagine a world where you no longer have to wait 4 hours to download the latest release of a game. Imagine not having to download patches and updates, imagine not having to collect discs or manage a hard disc space with a library of digitally-owned games. That's the future that Google Stadia is betting on.

Announced in October 2018, Google Stadia is set for release later this year and has already sold out it's founder's edition (sold out what exactly!? There's no physical console!). It was debuted with a showing of Assassin's Creed Odyssey and immediately caught the attention of the gaming industry.

How Does Google Stadia Work

Google is going to allow you to stream video games directly from the cloud. But what does that even mean? We are used to either popping in a physical disc into our consoles or downloading the game digitally to our hardrive. Google Stadia is scrapping all of that in favor of streaming the game directly to your device from one of it's many datacenters across the world.

Each game you stream will be processed by CPU's, Graphic Cards and RAM on servers held by Google in their own datacenters. Your device will do zero of the processing; you will instead be presented with a live feed of the video game you're playing that is being processed thousands of miles away. That means any device that can install Google Chrome (which is how you will play your video games through) can play the latest games. It doesn't matter how powerful your device is (be it a smartphone, TV or old crappy laptop) they can all stream video games (that normally would require the latest graphics cards) at the same high quality settings. All you need is an internet connection.

Of course, the jury is still out on the kind of experience you will have whilst streaming video games. Like when you stream a movie, if your connection drops or your internet becomes limited, game quality, lag and stuttering are introduced. For games like Call Of Duty and Fortnite, streaming online multiplayer games are going to be tough because of the need for zero input lag. This type of service is in it's infancy, so it's only going to get better and improve on these issues.

Google Stadia Controller

Despite no extra physical hardware needed to play Google Stadia, Googe has developed it's own controller that can be used with Google Stadia. The controller offers a direct wifi connection to Google Stadia datacenters, so you don't need to connect via the device you're playing on. The controller comes with the Founder's Edition when you purchase Google Stadia.

What is Google Stadia release date?

Google Stadia will officially be launched in November 2019 in selected countries and only to those who have purchased the Founder's Edition or Premiere Edition of the console.

Google Stadia Subscription

Stadia is not like Netflix. You still have to purchase the games you want to play (there is no subscription fee service that allows you to play a library of games). However, Stadia is going to offer a "Pro Plan", which allows you to stream games in higher quality and they will offer free games to subscribers too (probably similar to PlayStation Plus).

There will be two plans that players can use for Google Stadia. The Base Plan is a free tier for everyone and the Pro Tier is the subscription plan. The Pro Plan will cost approxiamately $10.00/month.

How much does Google Stadia cost?

To play on Google Stadia at launch (November 2019), you will need to purchase the Founder's Edition, which will cost you around £120. The Founder's edition will give you a Stadia Controller, 3 months of Stadia Pro subscription (no extra cost) and a Chromecast Ultra so you can play Stadia on your T.V. You will also get the complete collection of Destiny 2.

Coming next year (2020), is the free base model which will not cost you anything. It is limited to standard HD (1080p) definition games, where as the Pro Plan offers up to 4K Resolution (assuming your internet is fast enough to deliver that kind of content).

What Games Will Be Available on Google Stadia

Here is a list of announced games for Google Stadia:

Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Baldur's Gate 3
Borderlands 3
Cyberpunk 2077
Destiny 2
Destroy All Humans
Doom
Doom Eternal
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
Faming Simulator
Final Fantasy XV
Football Manager 2020
Gods and Monsters
Grid
Just Dance 2020
Kine
Marvel's Avengers
Metro Exodus
Mortal Kombat 11
Orcs Must Die
NBA 2k20
Power Rangers: Battle For The Grid
Rage 2
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Samurai Showdown
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Thumper
The Crew 2
Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
The Elder Scrolls Online
Trials Rising
Watch Dogs
Wolfenstein: Youngblood

More games will be announced and added over time, so this list may no longer be accurate.

Is Google Stadia a unique platform?

The simple answer is no. Streaming video games has been around for a while now and you can test out how it works by using a number of other services. PlayStation Now is Sony's cloud-based streaming service that offers games you can stream directly to your PS4 console. The games include PS1, PS2, PS3 and PS4 games and they currently have a library of over 600 different games to play from. To use PlayStation Now you need to subscribe for £13/month.

Microsoft also have their own streaming service known as xCloud, but is yet unreleased and.