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Google Stadia: the price, the games and everything else

Philipp Rüegg
6.6.2019
Translation: Patrik Stainbrook

Shortly before E3, Google announced new details about its upcoming game streaming service. Stadia will be a mix between a subscription and purchase model. 31 games have been announced for the November launch.

Google's first announcement regarding its new streaming service for games certainly caused a stir. Stadia sounded and sounds too good to be true. Games such as «Doom Eternal» are supposed to run at 4K/60 fps without lag. We're still waiting to find out how well high-octane action games will work over a cloud service. Instead, we finally know more about the pricing, availability and games that will be included in Stadia.

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Price and subscription models

Stadia will be a mix between a subscription and purchase model. Two versions are planned. Stadia Pro will be available at launch. Stadia Base will follow in 2020.

Stadia Pro

  • 9.99 dollars a month.
  • 4K, HDR, 60 fps, 5.1 Surround Sound.
  • Games must be bought.
  • Regular free games included. Destiny 2: the Collection will kick everything off.
  • Discounts on game purchases.

Stadia Base

  • No subscription needed.
  • 1080p.
  • 60 fps.
  • Stereo sound.
  • Games must be bought.
  • No free games.
  • No discounts.

Additionally, the limited Founders Edition is available on launch

  • 129 dollars.
  • 3 months of Stadia Pro for you and a friend.
  • A Chromecast Ultra.
  • Limited Night Blue Controller.
  • First choice of a username.

The Stadia controller is 69 dollars on top of that and comes in three colours. You can still play with several different controllers. As only the Stadia controller is directly connected to the data centre, however, it'll probably offer the best experience by far.

Games on offer

The most exciting announcement was definitely «Baldur's Gate 3». However, it will no longer be developed by Bioware like the first two parts, but by the Belgian Larian Studio. They've made a name for themselves with «Divinity Original Sin» 1 and 2. However, a release date wasn't mentioned. The game will also be released for PC. The following titles will be playable at launch.

  • Ghost Recon Breakpoint
  • The Division 2
  • Destiny 2 (character transfers allowed from PC, Xbox One and PS4)
  • Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
  • Doom Eternal
  • Wolfenstein: Youngblood
  • Power Rangers: Battle For The Grid
  • Metro Exodus
  • Thumper
  • GRID
  • SAMURAI SHODOWN
  • Football Manager 2020
  • Get Packed
  • The Elder Scrolls Online
  • The Crew 2
  • Assassin's Creed Odyssey
  • Trials Rising
  • NBA 2K
  • Borderlands 3
  • Farming Simulator 19
  • Mortal Kombat 11
  • Rage 2
  • Final Fantasy XV
  • The Tomb Raider Trilogy
  • Darksiders Genesis
  • Just Dance 2020
  • Gylt (apparently an exclusive)

How, when and where

Stadia will be available in November in the following 14 countries. Three guesses if Switzerland's included:

Belgium, Italy, Finland, Netherlands, Canada, Norway, Denmark, Spain, France, Sweden, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland and the USA.

To use Google Stadia, you'll need a PC or notebook with Chrome. If you want to play on your TV, you'll need the Chromecast Ultra. Whether Android TVs or Nvidia Shield will also be supported in the future isn't yet known.

You can also play on your smartphone with the Stadia app. For now, this will only be available on Google Pixel 3 and 3a phones.

Your internet connection should be at least 35 Mbps for games in 4K with 60 fps and surround sound. You'll still get 720p, 60 fps and stereo at 10 Mbps.

Watch the entire presentation here.

What do you think of Google Stadia? Are you interested in this innovation or do you want to stay loyal to your PC or console?

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Philipp Rüegg
Senior Editor
Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.ch

Being the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur. 

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