Cloud games: Google Stadia announced pricing for users.

Google Inc. announced its new service Google Stadia in March of this year. Stadia is a cloud for gamers, allowing you to play modern games on old PCs. The game data is processed on a remote server, and the gamer receives only a video stream. Actually, this is not a novelty, the news is that Google has created a new service.

For several months the company did not say anything about the cost of the service; one could only assume that a subscription would cost several tens of dollars - the usual price offered by other services. But no, the reality was somewhat different. Google has both a subscription and a fix .

The user will have to pay a one-time $ 129.99 for the initial package, which can be ordered now, and then pay $ 9.99 monthly. In fairness, it must be said that the first payment is made not just for the “air”, the package includes:

• Stadia controller, "limited-edition night blue";
• Chromecast Ultra;
• Three months of the Stadia Pro service and another three months of “buddy pass”, i.e. the opportunity to share joy with a friend;
• Ability to stake out “Stadia Name”.

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Ten dollars sounded above will have to be paid after the expiration of three free months on Stadia Pro. For this money, a gamer gets access to a high-resolution video stream, up to 4K / 60 fps with HDR. Audio track - 5.1 (of course, this can only be assessed if there is an appropriate audio system).

From 2020, the service will be available without initial investment, but without all the chips that were announced above. Apparently, the company is building a calculation on the fact that game lovers will try to pre-order and get priority over gamers, who will come to their senses only next year.

Here is a comparison of what a gamer can get now and what next year. True, in 2020 the package will be available not Pro, but Base.



As indicated in the table, Pro service subscribers will receive a lot of additional content compared to regular package subscribers. These are discounts on purchases of additional games, free games on a regular basis. The first one is Destiny 2, which will be available to Pro subscribers at the very beginning. All additions for this game will be free, and the content can be transferred from the PC and Xbox version (the possibility of transferring PS4 content is still being discussed with Sony). Additional chips will remain available to the player as long as he pays a monthly subscription.

Next year, Google plans to launch a free version of its service, called Stadia Base. There are no additional features, and the video stream will be limited to 1080p and 60 fps.

Google Inc. has already agreed with 21 publishers to add 31 games to the service database. They will be available at the start. Here is a complete list of what subscribers will receive:

• Bandai Namco: Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
• Bethesda: Doom Eternal +, Doom (2016), Rage 2, The Elder Scrolls Online, Wolfenstein: Youngblood +
• Bungie: Destiny 2
• Capcom *
• Coatsink: Get Packed +
• Codemasters: GRID
• Deep Silver: Metro Exodus
• Drool: Thumper
• Electronic Arts *
• Giants Software: Farming Simulator 19
• Larian Studios: Baldur's Gate III +
• nWay Games: Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid
• Rockstar *
• Sega: Football Manager
• SNK: Samurai Shodown +
• Square Enix: Final Fantasy XV, Tomb Raider Definitive Edition, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of the Tomb Raider
• 2K: NBA 2K, Borderlands 3+
• Tequila Works: Gylt +
• Warner Bros: Mortal Kombat 11
• THQ: Darksiders: Genesis +
• Ubisoft: Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Just Dance, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint +, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, Trials Rising, The Crew 2

Unfortunately, the corporation has not announced the cost of additional games that a player may wish to purchase individually. True, during the announcement it was mentioned that the price will be set not by Google, but by the publisher with whom the corporation cooperates. "We are working on this issue in order to make prices attractive for players, plus add those titles that most of them see on other platforms," ​​Google said.

Over time, Google promises to add free games to subscribers. Unfortunately, the company has not voiced many technical details, but it is stated that everything works as it should, there will be no unpleasant surprises. The financial side of the cooperation between Google and publishers has not yet been disclosed.



As for the recommendations for the players, the company advises to connect via a channel with a speed of at least 10 Mbps, and better - higher. Such a connection will be enough for a picture quality of 720p and 60 fps. Pro users are recommended to get pictures in 4K to connect at a speed of at least 35 Mbit / s.

As for hardware platforms, Stadia is compatible with all laptops, desktop PCs and tablets. But smartphones only support Pixel 3 and 3a - but this at startup, in the future it is possible to add additional models.

If there is a Chromecast Ultra connected to the TV, then it will be possible to play on the condition that you acquire a proprietary controller Stadia. Additional controllers will cost subscribers $ 69 in the US.