2020-04-01 TechLife

HOT SPOT

Google Stadia

Google Stadia

Google Stadia could become the be-all, end-all game-streaming platform.

Google Stadia is the name of both
a new game-streaming service
from Google as well as the name
of the storefront from which
you’ll buy games. Anything you
buy is yours to keep, but you’ll
likely be paying full price for all
the games you’ll find on the
Stadia store.
What Stadia promises (and
mostly delivers) is a game-
streaming experience that only
requires the most basic of
equipment: a Chromecast Ultra or
your phone or your laptop, plus a
controller of your choosing - either
Google’s own Stadia Controller,
the Xbox One controller or the
PS4’s DualShock4 gamepad.
Last but not least you need a
connection to the internet,
something we thought would be
an early nail in the platform’s

$TBC, store.google.com

coffin considering how few of us

have fibre connections. That being

said, Google Stadia works on

10Mbps connections and only

requires 35Mbps for full 4K

HDR/60fps.

There’s also the black

sheep requirement: a

Stadia Pro subscription.

Now, at some point, you

won’t need Stadia Pro to

play games on the

service: Sometime in

2020, you’ll be able to

buy games on Stadia

and play them on any

supported device

without any subscription.

Unfortunately, right out of the

gate, you’ll need Stadia Pro - a

monthly subscription that enables

you to play games in 4K HDR

quality, gets one or two free

games for you at launch and

offers you a discount when

buying some games. But,

importantly, despite what its

name implies, Stadia Pro isn’t

Netflix and it’s not an

all-you-can-eat

buffet of games.

Whichdevices

supportit?

Both the signup and

streaming service are

activated through the

Google Stadia app on

Android and iOS. Once

you’re logged in, you

can then either Cast a game

from the app to your

Chromecast Ultra that comes

with either of the two editions

or go to Stadia.com to start

streaming to your PC.

What Stadia promises

(and mostly delivers)

is a game-streaming

experience that only

requires the most basic

of equipment.

2020

EDITOR

APPROVED