Google Stadia is free, but what games can you play?

Google’s cloud-based game-streaming service Stadia initially came in a “Pro Version” at $129; however, recent events caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic has led to Google waiving off this fee to allow people to socialize while in self-isolation. They announced in their blog post:

“We’re facing some of the most challenging times in recent memory. Keeping social distance is vital, but staying home for long periods can be difficult and feel isolating. Video games can be a valuable way to socialize with friends and family when you’re stuck at home, so we’re giving gamers in 14 countries free access to Stadia Pro for two months.”

Google Stadia Pro free games

• Destiny 2: The Collection
• GRID
• Gylt
• SteamWorld Dig 2
• SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech
• Serious Sam Collection
• Spitlings
• Stacks on Stacks
• Thumper

Apart from this, there are 38 other games, including Borderlands 3 or Rise of the Tomb Raider, available on the platform that can be purchased from the marketplace, but upon this purchase, you must keep in mind that these games are just accessible to stream through Stadia, not to run locally on your PC and upon leaving the service will be unplayable.

In the last few weeks, the load on the internet has multiplied due to people being restricted to their homes and using the internet for almost all of their daily activities; to reduce the strain on the internet many companies, especially streaming services, are reducing the default quality of their service to a lower resolution till a point where gamers won’t notice a significant drop in gameplay quality. They can, however, increase the quality based on their personal preference from the settings.  

Where is Stadia available?

Google Stadia is available in the following 14 countries:

• Belgium
• Canada
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Ireland
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Spain
• Sweden
• United Kingdom
• United States

This essentially means that Stadia’s service is now essentially free and anyone with a valid Gmail address can avail of this service. Games can be played either with a mouse and keyboard, or a controller (Stadia or otherwise).  Although there is only one version currently available, another base version will be made available to players once their free 2-month free trial expires. Players who are already subscribed to the service will be exempted from paying for the next two months.

As confirmed by a Google employee, players signing up for this version will have the option to change to the base version in the event that they choose not to pay for Pro following the two months. It's constrained to 1080p, 60 fps, and stereo sound.

With most of the population being encouraged to remain at home during the spread of the virus, interest in playing video games has increased and this move made by Google will allow people situated in the 14 countries an easier way to play popular video games without investing hundreds of dollars on a gaming console or a ground-breaking PC.