Google Stadia gets Nov. 19 release date: What we know about price, games and speed requirements – CNET

Google dished the pricing and launch partnership details about Stadia, the cloud-gaming platform it formally announced in March, at its E3 event in the summer, but we got a firm launch date from the company at its annual Made by Google event on Tuesday: Nov. 19. 

Stadia combines is a cloud hosting to serve up games to any device. Since the games run on powerful cloud servers, it makes it possible to run sophisticated games on more lightweight hardware. It has been erroneously compared to services like Netflix and Apple Arcade because those are services people know and understand; in reality, it’s much more like Nvidia GeForce Now and its competitors in that it serves you games you own to play on multiple devices. Google provides the platform and tools for developers to optimize games for streaming, and the subscription aspect of it is for extra features, such as 4K and freebies.

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The lowdown

• The Stadia Founder’s Edition, a limited preorder offer for $129 (£119 in the UK), includes access to the service on Nov. 19, a limited-edition blue controller, a Chromecast Ultra streaming device, three months of Stadia Pro, Bungie’s full Destiny 2 experience, first dibs on a username and a buddy pass that gives a friend three months to try Stadia Pro. 
• At launch, you’ll only be able to connect the wireless controller via a Chromecast Ultra; your Pixelbook Go or Pixel 4 gaming will have to connect the controller via wired USB.
• There will be a free Stadia Base Tier for any game you purchase via Stadia at up to 1080/60p in stereo (at 10Mbps). Individual game prices are still TBD.
• There will be a $9.99 monthly Stadia Pro tier, which delivers 4K/60p HDR quality (at 35Mbps) with 5.1 surround sound, free games added to your library and discounts.
• You can test your connection to see if it’s up to Stadia’s requirements. You need a minimum throughput of 10Mbps — but that’s for 720p. The test doesn’t report anything other than speed, so factors like latency or network jitter may complicate your experience.
• It will come to 14 countries first, including the US, UK, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.
• At launch it will work on laptops, desktops and Chromecast Ultra TV streaming sticks, tablets, plus Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 4 phones. More phones, including the iPhone, and tablets are slated for later.
• The Stadia controller, an optional $69 (£59) accessory that will connect wirelessly to the internet in order to play games, will come in three colors: black, clearly white and wasabi (green). 

Launch games include

Game publisher partners include

Originally published spring 2019
Correction, Oct. 16: Revised the description of comparable services and clarified support for wireless controllers.