Google Stadia is trying new ways to grab that permanent spot in gamer’s homes next to the junk food by making its service free.
The previous $130 buy-in will soon have an alternative as this free base model nears release for people to try out. This new model is reminiscent of how many subscription-based games go free to play in order to retain or gain a user base.
Stadia is a game streaming service that could originally only be accessed by buying the $130 premiere edition. Now, you can play it stream it from other Google devices. This premiere edition comes with three months of Stadia Pro, a controller and Chromecast Ultra just to name a few things.
Stadia Pro currently offers free games each month, ultra-HD 4K games and discounts among other features. This free version will let players play at 60 FPS like Pro users, but will not have as many sound options, access to the free games or certain discounts on top of having a max resolution 1080p.
There’s Always a But
Only 14 countries will initially be able to access this free Stadia Base. The countries include Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States.
In a very Stadia thing to do, there is no hard date set for this free Stadia Base. However, Stadia head Phil Harrison said in an interview that it should arrive in the next few months.
“No money down, without having to put a box in your home, you can just click and play amazing games straight from our data center,” Harrison said.
Stadia launched in November to a number of controversies, from having a small launch line up to many features being missing altogether.
If Stadia doesn’t turn the ship around before other gaming giants like Microsoft fully enter the streaming space, we might finally get a new answer to Andre 3000’s question of “what’s cooler than being cool?” Instead of saying “ice-cold,” gamers will say “Stadia.”
Do you plan on ever getting Google Stadia? What’s your favorite platform to play on right now? Leave your comments!
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