Google Stadia will offer game trials, livestreaming and mod support, VP says – CNET

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Stadia VP John Justice gives some new details about the service. 


James Martin/CNET

Google Stadia will have game trials, support for mods and livestream options, John Justice, Google Stadia’s VP and head of product, said Sunday. He said there’s also a push for cross-platform saves on all games. 

Justice was a guest on the StadiaCast, a Google Stadia focused podcast. During the interview, he revealed game demos will be coming to the cloud gaming subscription service, but not just to try out new games. There will also be trials to allow people to test out Stadia itself. 

“We will be adding trials,” Justice said. “Trials is something high up on the list. We’re working on when and how to set it up.” 

He also confirmed that both mod support and cross-platform saves are also being pushed for Stadia. He didn’t have a firm timeframe on when the features will be added, as it’ll depend on the game and the developers. 

For livestreaming, there are plans to allow subscribers to both watch streams as well as stream themselves. The details are still being worked on, but streaming will be done on YouTube. 

Another feature brought up in the podcast was accessibility. Justice says he’s working to get remapping of buttons to be available on all games, which is key for those who need special controllers to play. He also mentioned there’s not a way to use a keyboard and mouse controls over the cloud. 

The Stadia controller will not have a gyro sensor in it, which means there will be no motion controls. 

“It’s not something early game developers asked for,” he said. 

There were some other questions Justice didn’t have clear answers on — he said his team is currently working on the details. This includes some sort of family sharing that would allow multiple people to use the same purchased game or the same account; how Stadia will work with video game subscription services such as Uplay Plus; and parental controls that will prevent children from playing mature-rated games and from purchasing games without permission. 

Justice says the best place to provide feedback and possible new features is the Google Stadia subreddit, which the team does visit often. There are also plans for another Stadia Connect sometime in the future. 


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source: cnet.com