Google Stadia Info: Requirements, games, prices & more

In our guide to Google Stadia you will learn among other things

  • What is known about Google Stadia
  • Which games you can stream with it
  • Why game streaming could fail
  • What Google Stadia costs

With Google Stadia, Google wants to revolutionize the video game scene. It aims to do this by moving gaming to the cloud in the future. If the plan works out, it would be a moot point whether you prefer to play your favorite games on Nintendo Switch, PC, Playstation 4 or Xbox One in the future.

At the same time, you will save on expensive hardware, because Google Stadia will be satisfied with the Chrome browser of the global corporation. As of today, Google Stadia is available. So that you know everything there is to know about the new streaming service, we have created this info collection for you...

Table of contents

What is known about Google Stadia?

It all started last October when Google gave away Assassins Creed: Odyssey, one of the most popular game titles of the year. Yet Google didn't even want to know which platform you needed the game for. This is because the action adventure was stored on powerful cloud servers. The action served as a closed beta for something called "Project Stream".

In the time that followed, rumors circulated about a possible video game streaming service or even Google's own gaming console. The speculations were fueled when it became known that Google had filed a patent for a game controller whose design was reminiscent of the controllers of Playstation 4 and Xbox One. The rumor mill really started to bubble when Google recently announced that it was working on the future of gaming.

The first certainty followed in March 2019: At the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Majd Bakar, Vice President of Project Stream (together with other Google personalities) revealed the first details about the new video game streaming service "Google Stadia". He said the streaming service should be available to anyone with a fast Internet connection and a computer, smartphone or tablet. In addition, a Google Chromecast stick is already powerful enough to bring Stadia and thus AAA titles in 4k to your TV screen.

At release, Stadia will run on TVs, using Google's Chromecast Ultra (), desktop PCs, laptops, tablets and Google's Pixel 3 (XL) and 3a (XL) smartphones. Other compatible smartphones are expected to follow later.

Google Stadia release date and pricing

On November 19, 2019, Google Stadia launched in a total of 14 countries - including Germany. The so-called Stadia Premiere Edition costs 129 euros and includes a Stadia Controller, a Google Chromecast Ultra and a three-month membership for Stadia Pro.

The Stadia Pro subscription service costs 9.99 euros per month and offers free games. The first free game that will be available on Stadia Pro is Destiny 2: The Collection. This collection contains all the content for Destiny 2 - including the latest expansion Shadowkeep.

However, you will have to buy new game releases separately. They are not included in the subscription service.

All information about the Google Stadia Game Controller

However, it is not possible to do it completely without hardware. Google will offer its own Stadia controller, which uses the best elements of the Playstation 4 and Xbox One controllers. It has a USB-C port on the top and a 3.5 mm jack on the bottom. There are also buttons for activating Google Assistant. The gamepad is said to have an extremely good feel and will be sold at a price of 69 Euros.

In addition, Google Vice President Phil Harrison explained in an interview with "The Verge" that the controller connects directly to Google's data center and therefore does not have to be synchronized with every device or screen. At launch, however, this only works in conjunction with Google's Chromecast Ultra; those who want to play with a Google Pixel or laptop will have to connect the controller via cable. Furthermore, Google Stadia is also compatible with other input devices, unlike the rather restrictive Xbox One or Playstation 4 consoles.

All games for Google Stadia

According to Google, 100 studios around the world have already received hardware to develop Stadia titles, and over 1000 creators and engineers are working on related video games.

However, only 22 games have been made available since the launch in November 2019. Four of them - Destiny 2, Farming Simulator 19, Samurai Shodown and Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition - are available to Stadia Pro members for free.

The following titles are available for purchase on Google Stadia so far:

Publishers Capcom and Electronic Arts have also announced their support for Stadia. We expect more concrete game announcements in the coming weeks and months.

Among the games announced so far, there are only two exclusive titles, Get Packed and Gylt, which will be released exclusively for Stadia. There is a reason for that.

Google founds own development studio for Stadia games

In a Gamespot interview, Google's Phil Harrison announ ces that the focus is not on exclusive titles, but on those that are optimized for game streaming. The main thing, he said, is for developers to become more innovative and start thinking about the future.

At the same time, Harrison clarified that a game developed by Google would "of course" be exclusive to Stadia. Recently, Jade Raymond moved to Google, about whose exact function was not known at the time. Today we know that Jade Raymond heads Google's first developer studio and is working on the global corporation's own Stadia games.

Google Stadia hardware performance and comparison with PS4 Pro and XBox One X

In order to play the two announced game titles Assassins Creed: Odyssey and Doom: Eternal in 4k with continuous 60fps, you will need a corresponding machine that should at least be equipped with an Intel i7 core of the newer generations, 16GB of RAM and a GeForce GTX1080.

Google, for example, calls a GPU of 10.7 teraflops - more graphics power than the and the together calculate. We have compared the two GPUs in the following table Top consoles with Google's streaming plans.

This is how Google Stadia fares in comparison with the PS4 Pro and the XBox One X. © GameZ

Bandwidth: The biggest challenge for video game streaming

However, the connection speed or the bandwidth of the users is crucial. Because those who want to stream 4k games in real time will quickly reach the performance limits of their Internet connection. Even for pure 4k movie streaming, Netflix and Amazon already recommend 25 Mbits and 15 Mbits, respectively.

Google is aware that not every player has enough bandwidth from day one. Currently, 35 Mbits are sufficient for 4k streaming at 60 frames per second and 5.1 surround sound. Google states 10 Mbits as the minimum, which should still be enough for streaming in 720p at 60 frames per second and stereo sound.

Data has to be sent back constantly during gaming, so the input lag plays a decisive role. Especially in multiplayer, a few milliseconds matter here if you want to stay competitive. To ensure a fast input, your bandwidth must not be fully exhausted.

And this is exactly where it gets tricky. In Germany, a household has an average bandwidth of 24Mbit. Valuable years of broadband expansion have been lost in Germany due to the introduction and expansion of the ISDN network. If several people now share an Internet connection or its bandwidth, 4k video game streaming remains a dream for the time being.

If Google does not have an ace up its sleeve for this issue, Google Stadia could have a hard time gaining a foothold as a real gaming alternative in this country. The expansion of the 5G network, which is supposed to be able to supply up to 100 billion mobile devices worldwide with up to 10,000 Mbits, could help.

This could progress as early as 2020 and revolutionize more than just the gaming world. And perhaps Google Stadia's competitors, Nvidia's GeForce NOW and Sony's PS Now will have something to say about it.

The Google servers: No Cheating, No Hacking

Cheating, especially in online games, is frowned upon for various reasons. Especially in professional "eSports", the highly endowed prize money should be played out with fair means. Even beyond that, cheats and irregular aids, such as aim or spambots, severely disturb the game balance and atmosphere of any online title.

Google takes advantage of this argumentation and officially declares Stadia cheat-proof. "No cheating, no hacking" exists with the Google service, explains Vice President, Phil Harrison, at the Game Developers Conference 2019. This is due to the nature of the system. And that makes sense, because the powerful Google servers calculate the game and the client, through which players stream the promised AAA titles, is also firmly anchored in Google's infrastructure.

This sounds wonderful at first. Nevertheless, the system first has to prove itself in reality. Because to date, no platform has proven to be one hundred percent secure.

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