Google Stadia Release Date and Price Revealed

Today, as it said it would, Google revealed the release date and price for the Stadia during its [...]

By Tyler Fischer

Today, as it said it would, Google revealed the release date and price for the Stadia during its first ever "Connect." Unfortunately, there's no word of a specific release date, but the platform will launch in 14 countries this November, including North America. As for the price, it will cost $9.99 USD a month. This service is being referred to as Stadia Pro. At launch, a Founder's Edition will also be available for $129.99 USD, this includes a special controller, Destiny 2, three months of Stadia Pro, Founder's Badge, Buddy Pass, and more. Then, in early 2020, a free version of Google Stadia will launch.

Here's a breakdown of the differences between the free version and Stadia Pro and the games that will be available on it at launch:

For those that missed it and don't know anything about Stadia, here's what you need to know. Earlier this year, Google unveiled Stadia, a cloud gaming serviced capable of streaming video games at 4K resolutions at 60 frames per second with HDR support, as long as there is some high-speed Internet running behind it. The service is Google Chrome based, and thus is compatible with phones, tablets, computers, and any other device that supports Chrome. And, as you would expect, there's YouTube integration and the ability to "state share," which allows you to share your saved games with other players.

According to Google, there are minimal loading times and there's no installation needed because everything is streaming, with Google itself doing most of the heavy lifting. And to go along with no installation, Ubisoft also promises no updates, meaning you never have to wait to play your games. Again, as mentioned above, the platform requires high-speed Internet, but according to Google, the demand isn't that great (here are the speeds you'll need).

The platform comes with its own controller, but it also supports HID class USB controllers. Stadia's controllers notably has a direct wifi link and the Konami code on it as a little Easter egg. Further, the controller features Google Assistant, which will allow you to search for helpful and related videos and articles related to the game you're playing and the question you have.

controller variants
(Photo: Google)

Elsewhere on the hardware front, upon launch, Stadia will be utilizing a custom Intel x86 processor at 2.7 GHz, with AVX 2 and 9.5 megabytes of L2+L3 cache. It comes packing a custom AMD GPU with HBM2 memory, 56 compute units, and 10.7 teraflops. Meanwhile, it has also features an SSD, support for 484 gigabytes of bandwidth, and 16 gigabytes of RAM shared between the GPU and CPU. In other words, it's powerful, but apparently not as powerful as the next Xbox or PS5. Of course, this is just how the Stadia will look at launch. Google plans to update it and make it more powerful over time, including adding 8K resolution support.

On the software side of things, in addition to a variety of games from big and small publishers and developers, Google is also making games, which it formed a new studio, helmed by Jade Raymond, to do.

As you can see, Google has big plans for Stadia, and today's Connect showed that. Anyway, as always, feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you think or hit me up on Twitter @Tyler_Fischer_ and let me know over there.

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