Google Stadia: reviews, download speeds, games, pricing and UK release
Countdown to the search giant’s gaming service is almost up. Here’s what we know so far
Google’s is moments away from launching its Stadia streaming service - marking the company’s first foray into the gaming world.
Previewed at San Francisco’s Game Developers Conference (GDC) in March, Stadia allows gamers to play a host of titles on all manner of devices, from smartphones to laptops, with no need for a conventional home console.
Instead, it uses the cloud to allow gamers to instantly access titles without a physical disc or through downloads.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Many are hailing the service as a “Netflix for games”, with users paying a monthly subscription fee to access powerful cloud-based hardware to play a range of big-budget titles.
The service launches in limited quantities at 5pm in the UK, before releasing in full in 2020. In the meantime, here’s everything we know about Google Stadia:
First impressions
Google Stadia may be a somewhat unconventional way of playing the latest video games. The Verge, however, says that the system not only “works”, but also delivers a “clearer” picture quality than its console rivals.
The service responds well to user inputs, too, with mouse and keyboard commands feeling fast and fluid, the site notes. Even with lower download speeds, games typically react to command prompts with console-like precision.
While Trusted Reviews agrees that Stadia held up well compared to traditional consoles, the service’s visual quality can be a little inconsistent.
“When my internet connection was good enough to achieve a Full HD picture, the likes of Shadow of the Tomb Raider still don’t look quite as good as they do on my standard PS4”, the website says.
Google Stadia has some “problems” in its current state, owing to “missing features” - such as certain game modes that are exclusive to the platform - and a “strange” lineup of launch titles, argues GamesRadar.
That said, the company has “brought cloud-streaming to market in a way that feels more accessible than it has ever done so in the past.”
Pricing
There are three purchase options for Google Stadia. Price dictates the quality of the stream, with the higher tiers offering better resolutions and frame rates.
The most expensive subscription plan is Stadia Pro, at £8.99 per month. Players who sign up for this level will be able to stream games at 4K at 60fps, says Pocket-lint.
Contrary to earlier reports, buyers will not gain access to a “library of games”, the tech site says. Instead, payers get one free game a month through Google’s Pro plan, similar to Microsoft’s Xbox Live service and Sony’s PS Plus.
Below Stadia Pro is Stadia Base, due to arrive in 2020. It’s free to use but the quality of streams drops to a 1080p resolution, while maintaining a frame rate of 60fps, and gamers won’t get a free game every month.
There’s also a £119 Premiere Edition, which includes the Stadia controller, costing £59 separately, along with a Chromecast Ultra and a three-month subscription to the Pro plan.
What is Google Stadia?
Stadia is a streaming service that lets gamers play a host of titles on all manner of devices, from smartphones to laptops.
Unlike Xbox One or PlayStation 4, which take the form of conventional home consoles, Stadia uses the cloud so that gamers can instantly access titles without a physical disc or through large downloads.
Google’s new service is based around a subscription model, with users paying a monthly subscription fee to access top-tier gaming hardware and a free new title every month.
Although players will be able to use existing Bluetooth controllers with the Stadia app, such as an Xbox One gamepad, the company has showcased a dedicated controller that connects directly to the data centres that will power the streaming service.
This should mean that there is almost no latency – the delay between the user’s input and the on-screen action.
Download speed requirements
One major concern raised after Stadia’s unveiling at GDC was whether gamers with poor internet connections would be able to subscribe to the service, given that video game streaming can be particularly demanding on broadband networks.
But the tech giant says it has built the service to function on internet connections with download speeds that are well below the UK average, which broadband speed checker Speedtest claims was 50.16Mbps in the second half of 2017.
Stadia users with a broadband speed of roughly 10Mbps will be able to stream games at a resolution of 720p, says Digital Trends. That’s the equivalent graphical specs of an Xbox One launch title, such as 2013’s Battlefield 4.
With a broadband speed of 20Mbps, players can stream games at 1080p and 60fps with 5.1 surround sound audio, the tech site says. That matches most titles that are optimised for a PS4 Pro and Xbox One X.
Players will need a download speed of 35Mbps or higher to stream games in 4K, 60fps and 5.1 surround sound, adds Digital Trends.
A plan that allows gamers to stream in 8K and 120fps is also in the pipeline, but no minimum download speed has been confirmed for this as yet.
Compatible devices
Gamers with computers running Google’s Chrome web browser will be able to access Stadia, as will those with a Chromecast and devices running Chrome OS.
Google’s recent range Pixel phones will run the service, too, including the Pixel 3a series and the new Pixel 4 lineup.
Game library
Stadia was set to have a library of just 12 titles at launch. However, Google has added another ten games to the roster ahead of the service’s arrival, meaning gamers can purchase 22 titles at launch.
As reported by The Verge, the game library at launch is as follows:
- Assassin's Creed Odyssey
- Attack on Titan: Final Battle 2
- Destiny 2
- Farming Simulator 2019
- Final Fantasy XV
- Football Manager 2020
- Grid 2019
- Gylt
- Just Dance 2020
- Kine
- Metro Exodus
- Mortal Kombat 11
- NBA 2K20
- Rage 2
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- Rise of the Tomb Raider
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider
- Samurai Shodown
- Thumper
- Tomb Raider
- Trials Rising
- Wolfenstein: Youngblood
More games, such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Borderlands 3, will be added to the service in 2020, the tech site notes.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Inside Chopard's hotel on Place Vendôme
The Blend Swiss jewellery maison Chopard unveils its new jewel, an ultra-exclusive Parisian hotel that elevates the art of hospitality
By Felix Bischof Published
-
Today's political cartoons - October 14, 2024
Cartoons Monday's cartoons - Columbus Day, the death of satire, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Lonely Planet and the surge of age-gap romances
In The Spotlight Laura Dern is the latest Hollywood actor to star opposite a much younger love interest
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
'Stunningly lifelike' AI podcasts are here
Under the Radar Users are amazed – and creators unnerved – by Google tool that generates human conversation from text in moments
By Abby Wilson Published
-
Will the Google antitrust ruling shake up the internet?
Today's Big Question And what does that mean for users?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Wall Street tumbles on poor tech results
Speed Read US markets had their worst day since 2022 as Tesla and AI stocks dropped
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Why is the tech industry up in arms about Google's search algorithm leak?
Today's Big Question A leak of about 2,500 documents shed light on how Google's search engine operates, and not everyone is happy
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
How AI is going to change the Google search experience
Talking Points Summaries are the new links
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Google unveils 'AI overviews' atop search results
Speed Read Users of the search engine in the US will now get AI-generated answers first
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Perplexity AI: has Google finally met its match?
In The Spotlight Generative AI start-up provides fast, Wikipedia-like responses to search queries
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Artificial history
Opinion Google's AI tailored the past to fit modern mores, but only succeeded in erasing real historical crimes
By Theunis Bates Published