Amber Neely
Google Stadia is giving users two free months of Stadia Pro, bringing big-name games to a wide variety of devices, including your TV and your Mac — but not to your iPhone.
For a limited time, Stadia is free for two months to all who sign up to help encourage social distancing and staying home during the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
Stadia normally costs $9.99 a month, not including the cost of the games themselves. However, as part of the free trial, users will get instant access to nine games, including titles like Destiny 2: The Collection, GRID, and Thumper.
Existing subscribers are also getting the benefit of the free trial, with Google waving the subscription costs for the next two months.
While an iOS app for Stadia exists, unfortunately, game streaming likely won't be coming to the iPad or the iPhone anytime soon, barring massive changes to the way Apple handles apps in the iOS App Store. The iOS Stadia app is simply used to "Set up and manage Stadia across compatible devices," according to the App Store description.
This is because Apple places strict limits on what sort apps make it into the App Store. App Store guidelines state that an app can't rely on streaming from the cloud. This means cloud-based gaming services like those from Google Stadia and Nvidia GeForce cannot be hosted on the iOS App Store.
However, Apple users still have an option to play the service through the Chrome browser on macOS.
Stadia works on Google's Chrome browser and supports a wide variety of gamepads, including most Xbox controllers, Dualshock 4, and the Switch Pro controller, alongside the traditional keyboard-and-mouse setup. Stadia controllers are available to buy for $69 each.
Of course, you can play Stadia games on your TV as well. A $129 Stadia Premiere edition includes three months of Google Stadia Pro, a Chromecast Ultra, and a Stadia Pro controller.
Some of the titles that are available to purchase and play on Stadia include Assassins Creed Odyssey, Baldur's Gate 3, Borderlands 3, Doom Eternal, Final Fantasy XV, Red Dead Redemption 2, and plenty more.
Malcolm Owen
Wesley Hilliard
Marko Zivkovic
Christine McKee
10 Comments
If you have a slowish internet connection, under 25MPS, you won't have a pleasing experience IMHO unless you're willing to put up with some jankiness here and there. My son had played on our 150MB connection and even being a decade long-time Xbox player thought it was pretty good. He had expected a lot of lag but didn't notice any for the most part. He was pretty surprised at how well it did. For him tho it made more sense to stick with his Xbox games already purchased so we didn't keep the service.
One thing he really did like about Stadia and that he does kinda miss: He could be at a friend's house and pick up a game where he left off at home. Stadia doesn't care where you do the streaming. The overall service is still a work in progress tho so judge accordingly.
BTW, don't even think about playing over a cell connection. It eats data like Reese's eggs are gobbled at Easter.
Google says minimum internet speed should be 10MB. Personally I'd suggest 35MB or better. At the current minimum you're going to get complaints of lag. Neither my son or I saw any with our at the time 50MB service and certainly not now at 150MB.
You should give it a try and see what your actual experience with it is rather than depending on he said/she said. Won't cost you anything but time, but it will make you more informed. Bonus, you get to try it under the least favorable conditions right now so it will be at its worst. No sugar-coating.
Between AppleArcade, our Switch, and PS4 we're covered, but thank you Google. If I ever get an itch to sign up for one of your half-baked services that you often kill at the drop of a hat, you'll be the first to know.