A New Challenger Approaches

Google Stadia

Developer: Google

Platform(s): Cross-platform

Release: November 2019 (Founder’s Edition), 2020 (Stadia Pro and Base Series)

When it comes gaming consoles our brains usually go to the dreaded “console wars” between Sony and Microsoft (sorry Nintendo, I love you but…) and how they’re trying to one-up each other. This year, Google has decided to join the ranks and flex their muscles with a new gaming enterprise they have dubbed Stadia, originally known as Project Stream.

So, what exactly is the Stadia? Stadia is Google's new cloud-based gaming platform that allows you to play games across screens instantly. Unlike household consoles, the Stadia is cloud-based and requires no additional hardware (so far, anyway). Similar to how Netflix works, Stadia streams games directly to you no matter where you are. Google claims that, as long as you have a (fairly decent) internet connection and are able to run Chrome, you can access Stadia.

You can watch the official release trailer here:

Back in March, Google vice president Phil Harrison stated, "At launch, we'll support being able to play games across desktops, laptops, TV, tablets, and phones. This new generation of gaming is not a box." Well said, my dude, well said.

Yes, my fellow Apple users, this includes the iPhone.

Mobility aside, Google is releasing their own gaming controller that looks like a hybrid of the Playstation 4 and Xbox One controller. While wireless themselves, the main difference between the three controllers is that the Stadia runs on – wait for it – WiFi! This enables you to easily swap between devices with the controller.

You may have noticed a few additional buttons on the controller as well; the “capture” button (which looks like a little box) and Google Assistant. With a tap of the capture button, you’ll be able to record or screenshot during gameplay and instantly upload to YouTube, kind of like how the Playstation screenshot works just with less steps and recording abilities.

The controller can also be used as a USB gaming pad it wasn’t even made for, i.e. Steam PC users. Pretty sweet, right?

So what kind of power are we looking at, really?

Upon launch, Stadia's cloud hardware will initially use a custom Intel x86 processor clocked at 2.7 GHz, with AVX2 and 9.5 megabytes of L2+L3 cache. It will also use a custom AMDGPC with HBM2 memory, 56 compute units, and 10.7 teraflops of power (this has become my new favorite word, btw). The service will also have a solid-state drive storage and 16GB of RAM shared between the GPC and CPU (this information provided by Wikipedia). 

Again, this is available on your phone.

Back in March, Google revealed only a few of the games that were going to be able to be played on the Stadia, one of which included the graphic heavy Doom Eternal. However, this past June revealed a slew of other games; Bethesda Softworks is looking to release several titles with Stadia's launch later this year including Doom 2016, Rage 2, The Elder Scrolls Online, and Wolfenstein: Youngblood. Ubisoft is also participating and is promising Just Dance, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, Trials Rising, and The Crew 2. For a full list of games, please visit Google’s Stadia site here.

List of launch publishers as of June 2019

Interested yet? Cool, let’s keep going! There will be two versions of the Stadia; a free one, and one that costs $10.00 a month (the Stadia Pro). With the basic Stadia you pay nothing, but are able to buy games from the Stadia storefront and play them across your devices. Games will max out at 1080p/60 frames-per-second in the base tier.

With the Pro level of Stadia, you pay $10.00 per month. For that monthly fee, you get monthly games that are yours as long as you keep your subscription and you also get a discount on game purchases, similar to how PS Plus and Xbox Live Gold work. If you decide to end your subscription to Stadia Pro, your saves will continue to exist for games that were unlocked with a Pro account. 

The only catch is, if you want in on the November release you have to purchase their Founder’s Edition. This includes three free months of Stadia Pro for yourself, and three months of Stadia Pro to give to a friend with a Buddy Pass. The Founder’s Edition also includes the exclusive “Night Blue” Stadia Controller, a Google Chromecast Ultra for streaming to your TV, and a Founder’s Stadia Name, all for $129.

Night Blue Founder's Edition w/Chromecast

I’m not gonna lie, the “Night Blue” controller is pretty sweet compared to the standard white/black ones, and I’m a sucker for limited edition stuff ^_^; .

The Stadia Founder’s Edition is available for pre-order now through Google’shome store.