Google Stadia offers a free two month trial during the pandemic

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion
Google Stadia is giving users two free months of Stadia Pro, bringing big-name games to a wide variety of devices, including your TV and your Mac -- but not to your iPhone.

Google Stadia


For a limited time, Stadia is free for two months to all who sign up to help encourage social distancing and staying home during the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.

Stadia normally costs $9.99 a month, not including the cost of the games themselves. However, as part of the free trial, users will get instant access to nine games, including titles like Destiny 2: The Collection, GRID, and Thumper.

Existing subscribers are also getting the benefit of the free trial, with Google waving the subscription costs for the next two months.

While an iOS app for Stadia exists, unfortunately, game streaming likely won't be coming to the iPad or the iPhone anytime soon, barring massive changes to the way Apple handles apps in the iOS App Store. The iOS Stadia app is simply used to "Set up and manage Stadia across compatible devices," according to the App Store description.

This is because Apple places strict limits on what sort apps make it into the App Store. App Store guidelines state that an app can't rely on streaming from the cloud. This means cloud-based gaming services like those from Google Stadia and Nvidia GeForce cannot be hosted on the iOS App Store.

However, Apple users still have an option to play the service through the Chrome browser on macOS.

Stadia works on Google's Chrome browser and supports a wide variety of gamepads, including most Xbox controllers, Dualshock 4, and the Switch Pro controller, alongside the traditional keyboard-and-mouse setup. Stadia controllers are available to buy for $69 each.

Of course, you can play Stadia games on your TV as well. A $129 Stadia Premiere edition includes three months of Google Stadia Pro, a Chromecast Ultra, and a Stadia Pro controller.

Some of the titles that are available to purchase and play on Stadia include Assassins Creed Odyssey, Baldur's Gate 3, Borderlands 3, Doom Eternal, Final Fantasy XV, Red Dead Redemption 2, and plenty more.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,213member
    If you have a slowish internet connection, under 25MPS, you won't have a pleasing experience IMHO unless you're willing to put up with some jankiness here and there. My son had played on our 150MB connection and even being a decade long-time Xbox player thought it was pretty good. He had expected a lot of lag but didn't notice any for the most part. He was pretty surprised at how well it did. For him tho it made more sense to stick with his Xbox games already purchased so we didn't keep the service.

    One thing he really did like about Stadia and that he does kinda miss: He could be at a friend's house and pick up a game where he left off at home. Stadia doesn't care where you do the streaming. The overall service is still a work in progress tho so judge accordingly.

    BTW, don't even think about playing over a cell connection. It eats data like Reese's eggs are gobbled at Easter.
    edited April 2020 muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 2 of 10
    ericthehalfbeeericthehalfbee Posts: 4,486member
    This product is DOA. Lots of complaints from users/reviewers about lag.

    And now they want to give people a free trial when the Internet is slower than usual because of all the people streaming, making the already poor experience worse? Great way to put the last nail in the coffin.
    razorpitcornchipwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 10
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,213member
    Google says minimum internet speed should be 10MB. Personally I'd suggest 35MB or better. At the current minimum you're going to get complaints of lag. Neither my son or I saw any with our at the time 50MB service and certainly not now at 150MB.

    You should give it a try and see what your actual experience with it is rather than depending on he said/she said. Won't cost you anything but time, but it will make you more informed. Bonus, you get to try it under the least favorable conditions right now so it will be at its worst. No sugar-coating.
    edited April 2020 muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 4 of 10
    razorpitrazorpit Posts: 1,796member
    Between AppleArcade, our Switch, and PS4 we're covered, but thank you Google. If I ever get an itch to sign up for one of your half-baked services that you often kill at the drop of a hat, you'll be the first to know.
    cornchiprotateleftbytewatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 10
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,213member
    razorpit said:
    Between AppleArcade, our Switch, and PS4 we're covered, but thank you Google.
    Yup, that's why we dropped it too. Already had a recent Xbox and an Nvidia Shield. Neither you nor I would be part of Stadia's current target audience from what I gather. We have good game systems and wouldn't typically be gaming on the go other than the simple or silly games like on Apple Arcade for instance.

    Stadia is looking for those who aren't hardcore committed to the Xbox or Playstation, along with new players or those who game a bit more casually.  Those folks particularly interested in gaming on several different devices they already own and anywhere they might be would be more likely to see a value to Stadia. That's not you or me.
    edited April 2020
  • Reply 6 of 10
    cornchipcornchip Posts: 1,950member
    Google what?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 10
    Sky999Sky999 Posts: 1member
    Honestly, I don't even know why this product exists. It's a rip off plain and simple. They charge you for the games themselves and charge a monthly fee when all then all you are doing is streaming them. Nvidia Geforce Now is at least a better option because you are streaming games you already own and are still actually able to download those purchased games to your PC if you so wish. If anyone is stupid enough to buy games on Stadia, they really need to have their head examined. The service will be gone in a few years and so are your games you 'purchased'.
    edited April 2020 watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 10
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    razorpit said:
    Between AppleArcade, our Switch, and PS4 we're covered, but thank you Google. If I ever get an itch to sign up for one of your half-baked services that you often kill at the drop of a hat, you'll be the first to know.

    Add Smash Bros. to your collection and you're Super covered.
  • Reply 9 of 10
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,213member
    Sky999 said:
    Honestly, I don't even know why this product exists. It's a rip off plain and simple. They charge you for the games themselves and charge a monthly fee when all then all you are doing is streaming them. Nvidia Geforce Now is at least a better option because you are streaming games you already own and are still actually able to download those purchased games to your PC if you so wish. If anyone is stupid enough to buy games on Stadia, they really need to have their head examined. The service will be gone in a few years and so are your games you 'purchased'.
    https://www.androidauthority.com/google-stadia-vs-geforce-now-1080793/
    pros and cons to both
  • Reply 10 of 10
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    I'd been using Geforce Now for some years now and that's been working really good. It allowed me to play numerous PC only games on my Macs, and the quality, streaming and latency was pretty good imo.

    Unfortunately, they went out of beta recently and many publishers pulled their games from Geforce Now, so the Beta was actually much better than the actual official release.

    Google gave me a 3 month trial to Stadia, since I had been on a trial for Youtube premium last month.

    I haven't used the Stadia trial yet, because it just doesn't look that attractive to me.
    watto_cobra
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