Google announces Stadia, its streaming game platform, to upend the $140 billion video game industry

ronjor · Mar 19, 2019

Todd Haselton @robotodd 19 Mar 2019

Google unveiled its Stadia game platform on Tuesday.
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kC_ · Mar 19, 2019

give it 2 years will be closed down when they get bored

ronjor · Mar 19, 2019

Google created its own studio for Stadia-exclusive games

By Andrew Webster Mar 19, 2019
Google isn’t just launching a new gaming platform with its just-announced streaming service Stadia: it’s also becoming a game developer.
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mood · Mar 20, 2019

Google positions YouTube as Stadia’s killer app
March 19, 2019
https://venturebeat.com/2019/03/19/google-positions-youtube-as-stadias-killer-app/

The connection between YouTube and Stadia ranges from the obvious to nebulous promises that may never come true. But the messaging out of Google is clear: YouTube is one of the top destinations for game-related content in the world, and Google’s going to leverage that to sell games.
Play and stream now
The most obvious use of Stadia is the “Play Now” button that Google plans to add to Google. If you are watching a video about a specific game, Google will give you the option to click a button to start playing it.
But that idea is not exactly groundbreaking. Twitch puts the option to purchase games from Amazon next to relative livestreams. It even shares revenues with content creators. The difference that Stadia brings is convenience.

You can even output that video at 4K and 60 frames per second. That’ll give you extremely high-quality video footage on YouTube.
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mood · Mar 20, 2019

If Google Stadia is the future, the games industry should be worried
March 20, 2019
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/google-stadia-future-of-gaming-analysis

For the games industry, Google Stadia is both an exciting opportunity and a looming crisis. It’s exciting because in the blink of an eye Google will remove almost all barriers to entry in gaming and allow anyone to play any game on any device. That’s huge. But it’s a looming crisis because this is Google. And Google runs YouTube. It’s an almighty crisitunity.

While everyone else was nervously side-eying Epic’s recently-launched game store and wondering what it might mean for Steam’s dominance, Google was quietly working on a system that will turn the entire internet into a storefront. It’s very weird, it’s very clever and it’s very Google.
This is a hugely exciting time and Google should be applauded for making a bold, innovative move in an emerging market. Streaming games at the scale it is proposing opens up the industry like never before.

But, as ever, the future remains tantalisingly out of reach. While its rivals play catch-up, Google has an opportunity to shape the future of gaming. For publishers and developers, the challenge now is to ensure the games industry isn’t reshaped solely for the benefit of Google.
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Rasheed187 · Mar 20, 2019

I can't visualize how it will work. Will we also be able to play games like FIFA, or do the games need to be designed for Google Stadia?

mood · Apr 25, 2019

Google Stadia will support “a variety of business models”
But the streaming gaming revolution "is not going to happen overnight."
April 25, 2019
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019...dia-can-support-a-variety-of-business-models/

In an on-stage discussion at LA's GamesBeat Summit this week, though, Google's Phil Harrison mentioned that "our platform at a fundamental level has been architected to support a very wide variety of what people call 'monetization options.' Everything from purchase to transaction to subscription."

That's not quite a direct confirmation that all those different options will be available to developers on Stadia.
Harrison says Google will provide more details of Stadia's business plan "in the summer," talking "about how gamers will be able to buy and get access to games" at the same time "we talk about the games themselves" that will be available on the platform.
The long haul
Harrison remains confident that streaming game distribution will revolutionize the business of gaming, especially as broadband infrastructure continues to improve worldwide.
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mood · May 25, 2019

Google Stadia's pricing, exclusive game selection, and launch date will be revealed 'this summer'
May 24, 2019
https://www.techspot.com/news/80227-google-stadia-pricing-exclusive-game-selection-launch-date.html

Still, as exciting as Stadia sounds for those who like the idea of running games at 4K and 60 FPS from their low-end laptops or smartphones, quite a few questions have remained unanswered.
In particular, we don't know how much Stadia will cost (or even what pricing model it will adopt), what exclusive games it will launch with, or when the service will be available.

This summer, three of the wishes you've been asking for will finally be granted:
Price Reveal / Game Announcements / Launch Info
Stay tuned here for more Stadia details coming soon.
— Stadia (@GoogleStadia) May 24, 2019
Fortunately, Google's official Stadia Twitter account has promised an answer to all three of those questions "this summer," so we can likely expect to learn more about the platform in the next couple of months.
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mood · Jun 6, 2019

Since-deleted report details Google Stadia pricing and availability
June 6, 2019
https://techcrunch.com/2019/06/06/google-stadia-pricing-and-availability-leak-ahead-of-announcement/

Details of the service’s pricing and availability were being shared by Google at 9am PT today, but were leaked Thursday morning by Canadian newspaper La Presse, a post which has since been taken down but was translated by Kotaku before so.
We’ve reached out to Google for confirmation.
Here are the leaked details, prices are given in Canadian dollars fyi:

Google’s game-streaming platform Stadia is reportedly arriving in November and will cost $11.99 Canadian per month. This base subscription get you 4K/60fps streaming, but the big news is that the company will launch a free model in 2020 that will let you play games you purchase through the service at 1080p resolution.

($11.99 Canadian is about $9 in USD, though there’s no guarantee Google will maintain pricing this way across markets) [...]
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mood · Jun 6, 2019

Google Stadia reportedly uses 1 TB of data in 65 hours for 4K streaming
That's a lot of data
June 6, 2019
https://www.windowscentral.com/google-stadia-reportedly-uses-1-tb-data-65-hours

Google revealed the bandwidth requirements for the service, and you need a 35 Mbps connection to play games at 4K resolution at 60 frames per second. Unfortunately, this means that the data usage is quite high. While previous estimates said that Stadia needs 20 GB per hour, it seems like the latest figures are a little lower. PC Gamer managed to do an in-depth analysis of the data usage.

"[...] Even with a 1 TB data plan... from Comcast... that's 65 hours of streaming per month at 4K. And that's assuming I don't do anything else on the internet. At 1080p 60 FPS, it comes to 113 hours of streaming per month, assuming no other data usage."
If you're a gamer and are considering Stadia, be sure that you know how much data is required. Even though you may not be aware, a lot of internet providers have data caps. For example, mine is 1 TB as well. If I go over this limit, there are additional fees. This may be the biggest limitation to Stadia at the moment, even if the input-lag issues are addressed.
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ronjor · Jun 28, 2019

Stadia head thinks being able to play on any screen is worth paying full price

Charles Singletary Jr. @The_CSJR Posted on 06.28.19
In the fall of this year, Google will be entering the home console gaming arena with the cloud streaming platform Stadia. Video games are served up in one of two main ways: By accessing a library of games with the Stadia Plus subscription or by purchasing games individually. Regarding the latter, Google Stadia Chief Phil Harrison shared with Eurogamer that games purchased on Stadia will cost just as much as games purchased on home consoles or other platforms.
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mood · Jun 29, 2019

mood said: ↑

Google Stadia reportedly uses 1 TB of data in 65 hours for 4K streaming
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Google’s Phil Harrison isn’t worried about ISP data caps for Stadia
‘ISPs are smart [and] they understand that they’re in the business of keeping customers happy.’
June 28, 2019
https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/28/...-phil-harrison-internet-speed-streaming-games

One of the questions surrounding data-hungry streaming services like Project Stadia is how they’ll manage with things like data caps, which some home internet services place strict limits on (similar to cellular data). But in an interview with GameSpot, Phil Harrison, vice president and general manager of Google, doesn’t seem too concerned that it’ll be an issue.

[...] Perhaps the demand for streaming game services will be enough for force the industry’s hand.
Harrison also pointed out that some estimates for how much data services like Stadia will use aren’t necessarily correct, due to how Google manages compression. But in any case, we don’t have long to wait to find out how Stadia handles these issues, given that the service is set to launch this fall for early adopters ahead of a wider rollout in 2020.
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mood · Jul 8, 2019

Google says Stadia games will remain playable even if publishers stop supporting the platform
Cloud gaming can create unique predicaments for customers
July 8, 2019
https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/8/2...t-publishers-discontinue-stop-remain-playable

Google has updated the FAQ page for its upcoming Stadia cloud gaming service and it includes one notable tidbit of new information. The company says that, in the rare event a game publisher pulls Stadia support for a title, Stadia will continue to make the game available to those who’ve purchased the license to stream it, per 9to5Google.

“Once you purchase the game, you own the right to play it. In the future, it is possible that some games may no longer be available for new purchases, but existing players will still be able to play the game,” the Stadia FAQ page reads. “Outside of unforeseen circumstances, Stadia will aim to keep any previously purchased title available for gameplay.”
It sounds like a rather specific scenario, but it’s certainly not a farfetched one. Stadia, and cloud gaming at large, is an unproven distribution model with unproven economics.
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mood · Jul 19, 2019

Google tries to reassure gamers it’s behind Stadia for the long haul
But buying individual games that only live in the cloud presents a new kind of risk
July 19, 2019
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019...e-gamers-its-behind-stadia-for-the-long-haul/

In a Reddit AMA yesterday, Google Stadia Director of Product Andrey Doronichev provided a few more tidbits about what features will and will not be available when the streaming game service launches in November.
"Nothing in life is certain, but we’re committed to making Stadia a success... Of course, it’s OK to doubt my words. There's nothing I can say now to make you believe if you don't. But what we can do is to launch the service and continue investing in it for years to come."

Doronichev also compared the transition to streaming gaming to similar transitions that have already largely taken place in the movie and music industries, and with cloud storage of personal files like photos and written documents. While acknowledging that "moving to the cloud is scary," he also insisted that "eventually all of our games will be safely in the cloud too and we'll feel great about it."
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ZMsiXone · Jul 25, 2019

Google Stadia release date, price, controller, features and spec news
https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/new-product/game/google-stadia-news-3693903/

... ... 22 Jul 2019 ...
Google Stadia is set to be released in November 2019. Here's all you need to know, from release date and availability to controller details and key features of the streaming service.
... ...
How much will Google Stadia cost?
The key factor is pricing: how much will the Google Stadia controller cost?

Annoyingly, the pricing structure is actually a little complicated. At launch, the only way to get Stadia will be through the 'Founder's Edition', a £119/$129 bundle that includes a limited edition Night Blue Stadia controller, a Chromecast Ultra, a copy of Destiny 2, and a three-month subscription to Stadia Pro. ... ... ...
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mood · Aug 19, 2019

Here are the games shown off during today's Stadia Connect
August 19, 2019
https://www.neowin.net/news/here-are-the-games-shown-off-during-todays-stadia-connect

Right before the start of gamescom 2019, and like other companies, Google today had its own video presentation where it showed off a handful of games coming to its platform. The vast majority of titles showcased during the event were already known of, but the company did get one all-new, exclusive announcement in the form of Orcs Must Die! 3.

In addition to the new reveal, Google announced a variety of titles coming to its platform, from major publishers and indie developers alike. [...]
With details such as game prices still a mystery, and many doubts still up in the air about the services reliability, it remains to be seen if Stadia can be successful enough for Google to keep pouring its efforts into it in the future. You can watch the full Stadia Connect presentation here, or head to the official Stadia website to pre-order the Stadia Founders Edition.
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mood · Aug 19, 2019

mood said: ↑

Here are the games shown off during today's Stadia Connect
[...] The vast majority of titles showcased during the event were already known of, but the company did get one all-new, exclusive announcement in the form of Orcs Must Die! 3. [...]
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Google Stadia exclusives push potential players to data centers [Updated]
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019...he-stream-for-google-stadias-exclusive-games/

[Update (7:45pm ET): In a "clarification" post on Reddit this evening, Robot Entertainment CEO Patrick Hudson said that Orcs Must Die 3 would be a timed exclusive for Stadia, but the company wouldn't say how long that timing would last. This is a relatively standard setup for third-party exclusive games these days.

"OMD3 would not be possible today without Google's support," Hudson wrote. "They are behind the game in a big way. We've hired more developers to bring it to life. It;s the OMD game that fans of the first two games have been wanting, and we’re thrilled that we have the opportunity to make it."]

Those Stadia players will, of course, be subject to Stadia's bandwidth requirements, which start at a recommended minimum of 10Mbps as well as potential added latency from the Internet roundtrip to and from Stadia's data centers.
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mood · Aug 24, 2019

Cloud gaming faces challenges as Google prepares launch
Google has high hopes for its Stadia platform
August 24, 2019
https://techxplore.com/news/2019-08-cloud-gaming-google.html

Urging fans to plunge into a virtual high-res surround sound universe of extraordinary games, Google hopes its cloud-based Stadia platform will take the world by storm on its November launch.

The US digital behemoth unveiled details of its nascent streaming video platform at this week's Gamescom trade fair in Cologne in the hope it can gain massive traction among hardcore gamers to zap past other providers of existing gaming fare.

"People have been talking about cloud gaming for ten years—we are on the third generation of actors. The signals have not yet turned green but Google has got solid enough guts to try it. We've never been so close," says Laurent Michaud, director of studies at French digital market consultancy Idate.
"I find their concept interesting but I have doubts as to their capacity to guarantee good connectivity," commented stand visitor Rishil Kuta, 22. A keen console user he said he would nevertheless be "ready to pay" a premium for a "stable" product.
Technical constraints
Beyond the task of converting gamers to Stadia, Google must address various technical obstacles that go with the territory of developing cloud gaming.
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mood · Sep 10, 2019

Google Stadia will provide free game and service trials post-launch
September 10, 2019
https://www.neowin.net/news/google-stadia-will-provide-free-game-and-service-trials-post-launch

Last month, Google showed off a handful of games that would be coming to its new Stadia platform. These included titles from both major publishers and indie developers, with some exclusives being showcased as well. Now, in an interview with StadiaCast (via Android Authority), John Justice, Stadia's Head of Product, has unveiled some interesting information regarding the upcoming cloud gaming service. You can view the full interview below:

According to Justice, free Stadia trials are "something that's high up on the list" for the company. Although the service will have trials, it will be a "few months" after launch. For now, Google is trying to figure out exactly how to incorporate these with Stadia.
Moreover, the free trials will not only be offered to Stadia users as a way of testing new features, but will also be provided to non-customers who are interested in trying out the gaming service. As Justice noted, "Both those are trials we want to support."
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Android Authority: You’ll be able to try out Google Stadia for free, eventually

mood · Sep 18, 2019

Stadia Founder's Edition now sold out across Europe, replaced with Premiere Edition
September 18, 2019
https://www.neowin.net/news/stadia-...-across-europe-replaced-with-premiere-edition

Google's Stadia streaming service is launching later this year, but it has so far only been available through the Founder's Edition, which is available in limited quantities. Now, it seems that limit has been hit in a number of European countries, according to the official Twitter account for Stadia, and so Google has announced a replacement - Stadia Premiere Edition.

The new edition seems to only be available in some European countries - based on our research, the UK seems to still have the Founder's Edition available, but France and the Netherlands are only offering the Premiere Edition. It costs the same as the Founder's Edition, but it doesn't offer all the same perks.
The Stadia Founder's Edition is still available in the United States, so you may want to get it soon before supplies run out.
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mood · Oct 3, 2019

Long read
Inside Google Stadia
Google Stadia promises console-free gaming where you can hop from watching to playing to streaming with just one click – but can it convince both developers and gamers?
October 3, 2019
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/google-stadia

With Stadia, Harrison explained, gamers could play high-resolution, AAA titles in real time, with no need to purchase a console. All you would need is a Google Chrome browser and an internet connection, and you could play the same games on any screen – whether a desktop, laptop, television, tablet or mobile phone.
The new service would support cross-platform play and, given its ability to scale, would allow developers to expand games – “so that 100-person games like Fortnite could turn into 1,000-player battles royale.”

Gaming, Harrison said, is now the biggest form of entertainment on the planet, with over two billion players globally and hundreds of millions of people watching gaming content every day on YouTube alone. “Our vision is to bring those worlds closer together – to connect game developers with players and YouTube creators in a way that only Google can.”
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mood · Oct 10, 2019

Google VP says Stadia could be more responsive than your PC in two years
Stadia will use AI to predict your inputs
October 9, 2019
https://www.techspot.com/news/82273-google-vp-stadia-could-more-responsive-than-pc.html

Many companies that offer game streaming services are still grappling with issues like latency and excessive data usage.
However, Google believes it has mitigated the problem with its Stadia subscription service -- early testers say that while the lag may be noticeable for more hardcore or competitive gamers, for the average user (with a decent internet connection), it's unlikely to be a problem.

Simply reducing input lag to nearly-imperceptible levels isn't enough for Google, though. In a recent Edge Magazine interview (first reported on by PCGamesN), Google VP Madj Bakar said Stadia's response times could be better than local machines in "a year or two" due to what he calls "negative latency." Apparently, Google is aiming to use its machine learning tech to predict your inputs, effectively making games feel even more responsive than they would on a high-end PC.

With that said, we have no idea whether or not this "negative latency" feature will be optional, so gamers might not have a choice in the end. We'll simply have to wait for Stadia's official release next month to say for sure.
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PCGamesN: Google Stadia will be “faster and more responsive” than local gaming hardware

mood · Oct 15, 2019

Google Stadia launches on November 19th
Stadia's Base subscription will launch next year
October 15, 2019
https://www.engadget.com/2019/10/15/google-stadia-november-19th/

Google's Stadia game streaming service will launch on November 19th, the company's Rick Osterloh announced today at the company's fall hardware event. In a separate blog post published during the keynote, Google added that servers will open to the public at 12PM EST/9AM PST. Besides the US, Stadia will launch in Canada, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland.

At launch, you'll be able to purchase Stadia's Founder's Edition for $129.99. The pack, which has been available to pre-order since June, includes a Chromecast Ultra, limited-edition Night Blue controller and two three-month Stadia Pro subscriptions.
Next year, Google plans to offer a Stadia Base subscription that allows you to buy games individually and play them at 1080p and 60 frames per second.
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Google: Stadia arrives on November 19

mood · Oct 22, 2019

Google says you might have to wait to play Stadia, even if you preorder
Founder’s Editions and Premiere Editions will be sent on a first-come, first-served basis
October 22, 2019
https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/22...dition-sold-out-premiere-edition-release-date

When Google announced that its Stadia cloud gaming service would launch November 19th, we thought that meant those who shelled out $130 for a Founder’s Edition would get to play right away — and when the company announced it was replacing the sold-out Founder’s Edition with a new Premiere Edition earlier today, the question was: would Premiere Edition buyers get to play on November 19th too?

Today, Google tells The Verge that neither set of buyers will necessarily be able to play at 9AM PT on November 19th, the moment that Stadia launches, because Google’s shipping out kits in the order they were received, and the new Premiere Edition apparently won’t have shipped by that date.
Google pointed us at its blog post from last week and sure enough, it technically says that Founder’s Editions will only “start arriving” on November 19th — and that you might only get to play starting at 9AM PT that day if “you were one of the first gamers who pre-ordered.”

You might not have too long to wait, though — Google tells us it’s expecting both the Founder’s Editions and Premiere Editions to be delivered within the first two weeks of launch.
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ronjor · Nov 9, 2019

Google’s Stadia cloud gaming service is coming November 19th: Everything you need to know

By Sean Hollister and Nick Statt Updated Nov 8, 2019
You can still preorder a Premiere Edition to play shortly after launch
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Google announces Stadia, its streaming game platform, to upend the $140 billion video game industry

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