Everything you need to know about Google Stadia

(Image credit: Google)

Google Stadia is a new kind of gaming platform, as it's all about streaming, with no console taking up limited space in your TV unit or under your desk. While Stadia released to a somewhat rocky start with some launch issues, it not boasts a ton of the last few years' hottest games, from Cyberpunk 2077 to Resident Evil Village.

And with the streaming service you can play those games on the go on any Chrome browser on PC or on your phone (just imagine someone playing *that* bit in RE Village on the subway). Stadia recently closed its first-party studio to focus on business partnerships and its proprietary technology, so it's unclear what's in store for the platform's future. It hasn't been around for very long, but Google Stadia has gone through a lot of changes already, and we're here to take you through them and help you figure out how the platform actually works.

In order to use Google Stadia, you'll need to have the supported hardware to stream games to your home device. That includes Chromecast on TV, the Chrome browser on PC, or the Stadia app on Pixel phones and nearly every other Android devices. You can play Stadia on your iPhone or iPad through the Safari browser. Head here to see which devices are supported so you can make sure you have the right gear.

What exactly is Google Stadia?

Google Stadia lets you play modern games on just about any screen you own, with Google's servers handling all the processing power and beaming them to you via the cloud. There are no downloads or installations to worry about; if your device can run a Google Chrome browser, it can handle Google Stadia. Google Stadia supports play on your TV (using a Chromecast Ultra), desktop computer, laptop, tablet, and smartphones.

If your internet can handle it, Google Stadia can stream gameplay at 4K resolution with HDR and 5.1 surround sound at 60fps, all via an internet connection with at least 35 Mbps speed. And even if your internet isn't as fast as that, Google Stadia supports a wide range of internet speeds at the cost of some graphical quality (with 10 Mbps being the recommended minimum speed). You can check in advance if your platform of choice is ready for Google Stadia using Google's handy speedtest site.

Google Stadia offers unique features like Stream Connect for games like Outriders and the Division 2, which lets you see your teammate's screens, and State Share, which lets you share a screenshot or video in games like Hitman that save your unique game state in that moment, allowing others to jump right into that moment themselves.

How does Google Stadia work?

Cloud gaming, or streaming games without the need for physical copies, renders games on a remote server instead of your local device. That game is then streamed to your device while your input on the controller (or mouse and keyboard) is sent to the server. You can use touch controls on an tablet or mobile phone.

In order to use Stadia, you'll need to create an account on Stadia.com, buy the games you want to play on your own persona devices - whether it's your TV through Chromecast, your PC, or your mobile phone.

Can I get Google Stadia for free?

Yes, but the free options have changed. In April 2020, Google Stadia offered a free option to anyone who signed up - two complimentary months of Stadia Pro and all the free games that come with it. If you already had a Stadia Pro subscription, your next two months are on Google.

Now, however, you can only get one free month of Stadia Pro if you sign up for the service, and the three free months offered in the Premiere Edition bundle have gone by the wayside. So, the Premiere Edition bundle has dropped $30, but the absence of three free months of Stadia Pro sort of evens that out, as it's a $9.99 monthly fee. However, if you sign up for a new account with Google Stadia, you'll get one month of Stadia Pro for free, so technically you're still saving.

Keep in mind that if you do not want the Stadia Pro subscription after the month ends, you'll need to cancel, so set a reminder in your phone!

If you don't have an active Stadia Pro subscription, you can buy games individually from the store.

Google Stadia price and subscription cost

Google Stadia Premiere Edition is now just $99 / £ 89.99. You can buy the Premiere Edition here, and the bundle comes with a Chromecast Ultra for playing on your TV and a white Stadia Controller. It no longer comes with three free months of Stadia Pro, but as we explained earlier, there's still a way to get one month of Stadia Pro for free.

The Premiere Edition replaced the Founder's Edition on the Google Store, after the latter sold out. The Founder's Edition bundle included a Chromecast Ultra, a limited-edition Night Blue Stadia Controller, a three-month Stadia Pro subscription, and a buddy pass that let you gift three months of Stadia Pro to a friend.

A Stadia Pro subscription, priced at $9.99 / £8.99 per month, is required to stream games at 4K/60fps/HDR with 5.1 surround sound, and grants access to a growing library of games that are free for as long as your Stadia Pro subscription is active. If you don't want to pay for a Stadia Pro subscription, games must be purchased individually, though they're yours to keep once you buy them. You can play in a Chrome browser on any computer or from a list of devices you can find below.

Google Stadia phone support

Initially, the phones able to run Google Stadia were incredibly limited - only Google Pixels and Mac tablets. Recently, that's changed, with a bunch of phones joining the party. Remember, iPhone and iPads won't have a dedicated Stadia app, but you can access it through your Safari browser. Check out the list of some of the phones Google Stadia supports below. For the complete list, head here.

Galaxy S8
Galaxy S8+
Galaxy S8 Active
Galaxy Note8
Galaxy S9
Galaxy S9+
Galaxy Note9
Galaxy S10
Galaxy S10e
Galaxy S10+
Galaxy Note10
Galaxy Note10+
Galaxy S20
Galaxy S20+
Galaxy S20 Ultra
Razer Phone
Razer Phone 2
ASUS ROG Phone
ASUS ROG Phone II
Pixel 5
Pixel 4 XL
Pixel 4
Pixel 3a XL
Pixel 3a
Pixel 3 XL
Pixel 3
Pixel 2
Pixel 2 XL
Pixel XL
Pixel
Pixel C
One Plus 5
One Plus 6
One Plus 7
One Plus 7 Pro
One Plus 7 Pro 5G
One Plus 8
One Plus 8 Pro
One Plus 5T
One Plus 6T
One Plus 7T
One Plus 7T Pro
One Plus 7T Pro 5G
One Plus 8T
One Plus Nord
One Plus N10 5G
One Plus N100

What games can I play on Google Stadia?

The ever-growing library of Google Stadia games is impressive, especially considering that you don't need a console or powerful PC to enjoy these contemporary games.

If you're a Stadia Pro member, the available games change month-to-month, but you can claim a game and keep it as long as you keep your subscription. If you cancel your subscription, you'll be able to play that game until the remainder of subscription period runs out - and if you re-up your Stadia Pro down the line, you'll get access to those games again.

Google Stadia games available right now

A Place for the Unwilling
Ary and the Secret of Seasons
Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Assassin's Creed Origins
Assassin's Creed Syndicate
Assassin's Creed Unity
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Attack on Titan 2: Final Battle
AVICII Invector
Baldur's Gate 3
Borderlands 3
Cake Bash
Celeste
Chronos: Before the Ashes
Cosmic Star Heroine
Crayta
Cthulhu Saves Christmas
Cyberpunk 2077
Darksiders Genesis
Dead by Daylight
Destiny 2
Destroy All Humans!
Dirt 5
Disco Elysium: The Final Cut
Doom 64
Doom
Doom Eternal
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
Dragon Quest 11
Elder Scrolls Online
El Hijo - A Wild West Tale
Enter the Gungeon
Embr
Epistory – Typing Chronicles
Everspace
F1 2020
Family Feud
Far Cry 5
Far Cry New Dawn
Farming Simulator 19
FIFA 21
Figment
Final Fantasy 15
Floor Kids
Football Manager 2020
Get Packed
Gods Will Fall
Grid
Gunsport
Gylt
Hello Neighbor
Hello Neighbor: Hide & Seek
Hellpoint
Hitman
Hitman 2
Hitman 3
Hotline Miami
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number
Human: Fall Flat
Hundred Days
Immortals: Fenyx Rising
Into the Breach
It Came From Space And Ate Our Brains
Jotun: Valhalla Edition
Journey to the Savage Planet
Judgment
Just Dance 2020
Just Dance 2021
Just Shapes & Beats
Kaze and the Wild Masks
Kemono Heroes
Killer Queen Black
Kine
Kona
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris
Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 3
Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 4
Legend of Keepers: Career of a Dungeon Manager
Little Big Workshop
Little Nightmares
Little Nightmares 2
Lost Words: Beyond the Page
Madden NFL 21
Marvel's Avengers
Metro 2033 Redux
Metro Exodus
Metro: Last Light Redux
Monopoly
Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom
Monster Energy Supercross: The Official Videogame 3
Monster Energy Supercross: The Official Videogame 4
Monster Jam Steel Titans
Monster Jam Steel Titans 2
Mortal Kombat 11
MotoGP 20
Murder by Numbers
Nanotale - Typing Chronicles
NBA 2K20
NBA 2K21
Octopath Traveler
One Hand Clapping
Orcs Must Die! 3
Outcasters
Outriders
Outward
Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle
Panzer Dragoon
PGA Tour 2K21
Phoenix Point
PHOGS!
Pikuniku
PixelJunk Raiders
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid
Rage 2
Red Dead Redemption 2
Reigns
Relicta
République
Resident Evil 7
Resident Evil Village
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Risk of Rain 2
Rock of Ages 3: Make And Break
Saints Row: The Third Remastered
Samurai Shodown
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game - Complete Edition
Secret Neighbor
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Serious Sam Collection
Serious Sam 4
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero
Shantae: Risky's Revenge
Sniper Elite 4
Spiritfarer
Spitlings
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated
Stacks On Stacks (On Stacks)
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
SteamWorld Dig
SteamWorld Dig 2
SteamWorld Heist
SteamWorld Quest
Strange Brigade
Submerged: Hidden Depths
Sundered
Super Bomberman R Online
Superhot
Superhot: Mind Control Delete
Terraria
The Crew 2
The Darkside Detective
The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark
The Elder Scrolls Online
The Gardens Between
The Turing Test
Thumper
TOHU
Tom Clancy's The Division 2
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands
Tomb Raider
Trials Rising
Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince
Uno
Unto the End
Valkyria Chronicles 4
Watch Dogs 2
Watch Dogs: Legion
Wave Break
Welcome to Elk
West of Loathing
Windbound
Wolfenstein: Youngblood
WWE 2K Battlegrounds
Ys IX: Monstrum Nox
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana
Zombie Army 4: Dead War

Upcoming Google Stadia games

Ark: Survival Evolved
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Blue Fire
Chorus
Cris Tales
Death Carnival
Far Cry 6
Farming Simulator 22
Figment 2: Creed Valley
FORECLOSED
Grime
Hello Engineer
Humankind
Hundred Days - Winemaking Simulator
Jay and Silent Bob: Chronic Blunt Punch
Life Is Strange Remastered Collection
Life Is Strange: True Colors
Mafia 2 Remastered
Mafia 3 Remastered
Merek's Market
Riders Republic
She Dreams Elsewhere
Skyclimbers
Street Power Football
Tchia
Windjammers 2
Young Souls
Zorro: The Chronicles

What about the Google Stadia controller?

The dedicated Stadia controller isn't required to play on Google Stadia, which supports a wide range of controllers as well as a mouse and keyboard setup. But if you want to play Stadia the way Google intended, you can buy a Google Stadia controller for $69 / £59 each. Colors currently on offer include Clearly White, Just Black, Wasabi (the clear front-runner at the moment), or the Night Blue colorway included exclusively in the Founder's Edition.

Stadia controllers use your WiFi to connect directly with whatever game is being streamed from Google's servers, with the classic dual joystick, D-pad, face button, and shoulder button layout most closely resembling the DualShock 4 controller. It also has two additional buttons which let you easily capture footage or activate the Google Assistant. Once you've got a supported controller and a screen to play on, you're all set to use Google Stadia - no console or additional wires required. Here are the full Stadia Controller specs, if you're curious:

Wi-Fi: Dual-band (2.4GHz / 5GHz) IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac connectivity
Bluetooth: Bluetooth Low Energy 4.2 (BLE)
Headset jack: 3.5mm headset jack for headsets with or without a microphone
USB: USB-C port for charging, wired gameplay, and accessories such as USB-C headsets. HID-compliant
Weight: 268g
Dimensions: 163mm x 105mm x 65mm
Google Assistant: Google Assistant button to trigger microphone
Capture button: Quick access to image and video capture
Battery: Internal rechargeable Li-Ion battery

Keep an eye on our Google Stadia games list, you never know when an update to the list will be announced.

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