Google has finally revealed more details about its Stadia gaming platform, including its price, release date, and initial set of games.
The Mountain View company made the announcements during its Stadia Connect presentation, and it's expected to disclose more info at the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo or E3 2019 in Los Angeles.
Price, Availability, And The Founder's Edition
Stadia will roll out sometime in November, but at first, it will be available only via the $129.99 Founder's Edition package, which includes a Chromecast Ultra, a limited-edition Night Blue Stadia controller, an opportunity to select a Stadia Name ahead of everyone else, a three-month subscription to Stadia Pro (more on that in a bit), and a three-month Buddy Pass to give a friend a subscription to Stadia Pro.
It's already up for preorder, and it can be bundled with an additional controller that comes in Clearly White, Just Black, and Wasabi color options.
Availability is limited to 14 countries at the moment: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden. Google says it'll expand the service to more countries in 2020.
Stadia Pro vs. Stadia Base
Stadia will be available in two subscription tiers called Stadia Pro and Stadia Base, which is the free version.
First off, Stadia Pro will cost $9.99, and it'll let subscribers stream up to a 4K resolution with 60 frames per second, 5.1 surround sound, free games "released regularly," and exclusive discounts. For now, the only free game is Destiny 2: The Collection, but just like PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live, more titles are expected to come at intervals.
On the other hand, Stadia Base won't cost a dime, but gamers will only be able to stream at a resolution of up to 1,080p with 60 fps. Sound is limited to stereo, and it won't have free games and exclusive discounts. This option won't be available until 2020, though.
Games
The launch titles for Stadia consists of more than 30 games from 21 publishers. Notably, Borderlands 3 and Doom Eternal are among the roster.
• 2K Games - NBA 2K and Borderlands 3
• Bandai Namco - Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
• Bethesda - Doom Eternal, Doom (2016), Rage 2, The Elder Scrolls Online, and Wolfenstein: Youngblood
• Bungie - Destiny 2
• Coatsink - Get Packed
• Codemasters - GRID
• Deep Silver - Metro Exodus
• Drool - Thumper
• Giants Software - Farming Simulator 19
• Larian Studios - Baldur's Gate 3
• nWay - Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid
• Sega - Football Manager
• SNK - Samurai Shodown
• Square Enix - Final Fantasy XV, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Tomb Raider Definitive Edition
• Tequila Works - Gylt
• Warner Bros. - Mortal Kombat 11
• THQ - Darksiders Genesis
• Ubisoft - Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Just Dance, The Crew 2, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, and Trials Rising
Capcom, Electronic Arts, and Rockstar Games are also in the mix, but they have yet to announce the games they're going to launch on the platform. Speaking of which, more titles are expected to be revealed at E3 2019. On an interesting note, Get Packed and Gylt are exclusive to Stadia.
Now it's worth mentioning that Google told The Verge that it's going to "sell these games like any other digital storefront," meaning users should expect to buy these games as opposed to renting them.
Take Note
Just in case it's still unclear, Stadia will be playable on just about any device with Chrome, such as a desktop, a TV with Chromecast (hence the Chromecast Ultra in the Founder's Edition bundle), and tablets. As for phones, it's available only on the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3 for now through the Stadia app.
One more thing: a stable and fast connection is more or less a requirement on the platform. According to Google, the minimum is 10 Mbps for 720p quality. Meanwhile, 20 Mbps is recommended for 1,080p streaming and 35 Mbps for 4K.
