Google’s first Stadia Connect event has just wrapped up. Stadia will allow you to play games on any platform that runs Google Chrome. It launches first for Chromecast Ultra exclusively in November, then across Chrome devices in 2020. Here’s everything you need to know about the streaming service, including prices and announced games.
Stadia prices
The pricing for Stadia will be subscription-based. Stadia Pro will be on offer for $9.99 a month. You’ll be able to play included games as long as your subscription is active. It offers 4K HDR, 60 FPS, and 5.1 surround sound. As leaked, the Stadia Founder’s Edition will allow people to be the first to play Stadia at launch this year. It includes Chromecast Ultra ($69.99), one Stadia controller ($69), 3 months of Stadia ($30), the complete Destiny 2 package ($60), and a 3-month buddy pass. Additional controllers can be purchased for $69. The Founder’s Edition will be priced at $129 and is the only way to get access to Stadia when it launches this November. The initial launch will only be available through a Chromecast Ultra. Browser and phone support will be coming in 2020.
However, some of the new games announced will likely have to be purchased independently, not being included in the subscription.
Stadia bandwidth requirements
Streaming at 4K HDR 60 FPS with 5.1 surround sound will require 35 Mbps. The minimum speed required of 10 Mbps will allow 720P streaming at 60 FPS.
Google also showed off the Stadia controller but made sure to state that any controller will be supported by Stadia. The Stadia controller will connect directly to the data center running your game. Per their FAQ, “you can use many popular HID compliant controllers when playing via USB cable on Chrome or mobile. To play on your TV you will need to use the Stadia Controller and Google Chromecast Ultra.”
Wait, Baldur’s Gate 3?
The first game trailer revealed during the event was from Larian Studios, the developers of Divinity: Original Sin 2, for Baldur’s Gate 3! The trailer shows a knight going through a grotesque transformation into a Cthulhu-like creature.
More Stadia game trailers
The next game trailer revealed was Ubisoft’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, the follow-up to Ghost Recon: Wildlands. Disappointingly, this trailer did not feature any “real gamer voice chat.”
A horror game from Tequila Works, Gylt, was shown off next. It seems like a Silent Hills-type survival horror game. I really like the art style showcased in this game, so it will definitely be on my radar moving forward.
A four-player couch co-op physics-based game called Get Packed displays some wacky, frantic action. It is unclear from the trailer what the goal itself is, but it looks fun.
The Division 2 was also confirmed to be coming to Stadia. Ubisoft seems to be going all in with the streaming platform. Ubisoft seems like they will be going fairly hard in support of Stadia. While I don’t see Rainbow Six Siege ever coming to Stadia, all of Ubisoft’s non-competitive games will likely make it on there eventually.
More games coming, including Destiny 2: Shadowkeep
Running with the Destiny 2 partnership, the Shadowkeep expansion was debuted. It will be coming in fall 2019. Shadowkeep will be included in the Stadia subscription and players will be able to transfer their guardian over to Stadia from any other platform.
The event ended with a flashy teaser showing seemingly dozens of games coming to the Stadia platform. Some of the games that will be included with Stadia but that were not singled out will include the following: Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, Mortal Kombat 11, Doom (2016), Doom Eternal, Rage 2, The Elder Scrolls Online, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Capcom games, GRID, Metro Exodus, Thumper, Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid, Farming Simulator 2019, Trails Rising, Just Dance 2020, Borderlands 3, Football Manager 2020, Darksiders Genesis, Samurai Showdown, Final Fantasy XV, The Crew 2, and the Tomb Raider reboot trilogy.
An impressive lineup of games to be sure. I’m pretty sure I didn’t catch everything, but that’s probably by design. Some of these games will almost certainly require a separate purchase. Several developers like Rockstar were shown in a graphic but are listed as pending approval, so they may not make the final product. I would also be shocked if The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim doesn’t make it onto this. Let me know what I missed in the comments. The full Stadia Connect event can be viewed above.
Published: Jun 6, 2019 01:39 pm