Imagine a world where you don’t have to spend big to play your favorite online video game. A world where you only need your browser and voila! You can select your choice title and start playing. No lengthy download times, no latency, and lag problems. This could soon be a reality with Google Stadia: a chrome tab, zero installation, 4K, 60 fps game. Does it sound like a pipe dream?
What is Google Stadia?
Google marked its entry into the video game world with Google Stadia. Stadia is Google’s brainchild, a cloud game streaming service. This cloud-powered service will allow players to stream online video games to any device, including a tablet, phone, computer, or TV.
Stadia allows its users to log in from any device via the Chrome browser, a Google pixel tablet or phone or a chromecast device and access the same games across all the devices. The heavy lifting is done by Google’s servers instead of a games console, liberating video games from relying on hardware.
This subscription-based service is the best deal on online video games in 2019. It merges with YouTube allowing gamers full control of their gaming experience. You get to watch video game footages on YouTube and seamlessly capture and share game clips.
Stadia aims to downplay latency and lag issues associated with previous game streaming offerings and guarantee instant responsiveness for smooth gaming in 4k resolution plus 60 frames per second.
Stadia will support smartphones, laptops, tablets, and desktops. Google promises that Stadia’s cloud computing power will reach 10.7 GPU teraflops, higher than Xbox one X and ps4 pro combined. It allows gamers to use a keyboard and mouse to play, including Google’s stadia gamepad, a smart piece of hardware.
Stadia also supports cross-platform multiplayer. Players can capture and share their games via a YouTube channel or join an in-process game from its video stream.
Will you be able to play Google Stadia on your phone?
Yes. You can play Google stadia on your phone, but only if you are a Google pixel owner. Google is limiting stadia to pixel owners for a start.
This is not quite a deal breaker considering you can access the service via various platforms including your laptop, desktop tablet, or TV. But the fact that all android phones won’t access stadia at the same time is a bummer.
But why would Google limit its smartphone user base? It all boils down to quality. Android devices have different hardware systems, and Google wants to lead the pack with hardware it can best handle; its flagship pixel smartphones.
How will Google Stadia work?
With stadia, as long as you are using a recent version of Google Chrome browser, fast and stable internet connection, you are guaranteed of pleasant gaming experience.
You open a new tab in Google Chrome and head to stadia.com homepage or jump in via a YouTube link of the video game.
To get you started, Google will prompt you to run a connection test to assess the latency between the server and your computer, internet bandwidth, and any data loss. Google requires latency below 40ms, a streaming rate of at least 15 Mbps, and a data loss below 5%. When these requirements are met, you can now dive in.
What happens is, you are opening a new tab that channels all your inputs to an advanced gaming pc which streams back the audio and visuals to your device’s screen.
According to Google, stadia will be able to scale up to 8K/120 fps-plus frame rates in future with 4k/60fps as the current norm.
What games will be available on Stadia?
The final number of games that will be accessible on Stadia is not final yet. But so far there are several popular game titles you can access on Stadia’s library.
Google has a vast and intense portfolio of gaming clients. According to online casino reviews, some of the notable titles on stadia include;
- Assassin’s creed odyssey
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- The Elder Scrolls Online
- Darksiders Genesis
- The Crew 2
- Doom
- Farming Simulator 19
- Football Manager
- Final Fantasy 15
- Get Packed
- Just Dance
- GRID
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid
- NBA 2K
- Rise of the Tomb Raider
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider
- Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint
- Tom Clancy’s The Division 2
- Samurai Showdown
This list is not conclusive. There are tons of gaming titles available on Stadia.
Will Stadia be free?
No, Stadia is a paid gaming service. Even though Stadia will cost you it is not as expensive compared to other gaming platforms.
It is unclear at the moment whether Google will require gamers to buy the games and pay for the streaming service in separate (synonym) transactions or will access the games in a package.
There are various pricing options for stadia, depending on whether players prefer a subscription or non-subscription plan. The initial pre-order offering, which is the founder’s edition costs £119 for access to the service. And extras including three months of free Stadia pro, complimentary games such as destiny 2: the collection and Stadia controller.
Once you exhaust the three months, Stadia pro will cost you £8.99 per month with discount deals on select game purchases. It is unclear the number of games Google includes in this subscription.
However, there is a free non-subscription tier known as Stadia base that allows players to buy individual titles they want and provides access to stadia at up to 1080p.
Which countries will access Stadia?
Stadia is set to launch in 14 countries initially including Ireland, Sweden, Germany, the UK, Finland, Belgium, Denmark, Canada, Spain, France, Norway, Netherlands, and the US.
To sum it up:
Google’s new gaming platform Stadia will drastically redefine the gaming landscape when it launches in November 2019. Online gaming is shifting, and we don’t want to miss out on the new revolution.
