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Mountain View Confirms the Arrival of a Multi-Player Mode at the Launch and Says More About Possible Cross-Platform Developments

Summary

One month after its major presentation event, Stadia Connect, Google has updated its platform FAQ to provide some clarification on the use of its cloud gaming service, Stadia. The opportunity to learn that there will be multi-player mode right from the launch. There will be multiplayer content, and we are working with more publishers and developers every day to bring you the best games on Stadia,” said Mountain View.  Google has explained planning to “work with the best developers, including some who want to activate the cross-platform game”. Remember that compatible media will be restricted at the beginning. Televisions will need to be equipped with a Chromecast Ultra, and computers will need to run on Chrome OS. Note that a player may continue to use a purchased game… even if its publisher has left the platform or removed it from the sale. Google also confirmed the arrival of multi-player mode at the launch.

The bottom line: after a first keynote presentation of its cloud gaming platform, Google Stadia, at the end of March, Google had left a lot of people hungry. The main information: its price and its launch date, had indeed not been disclosed. It is now done.

What should we remember? Google has decided to be commercially aggressive to impose itself on this sector where it acts like an outsider. The group will propose a set called “Founding Edition”, including the limited edition Stadia blue controller, an Ultra Chromecast, the Destiny 2 game and three months of subscription to Stadia Pro (with a three-month Buddy Pass to give to a friend). All for the sum of 129 euro. The pack, available in pre-order on the site Stadia.com, will be offered in limited quantities. The launch will take place in November in 14 countries, including France. Two subscription packages are available :

  • A free subscription to Stadia Base with a resolution limited to 1080p and the need to pay for each game to play.
  • A paid subscription to Stadia Pro offered at 9.99 euros per month that will allow having an image in 4K and 60 FPS. Some games will be included in the pack, but you will have to pay to take advantage of the newest ones.

The Stadia Base offering, which will not be deployed until 2020, seems to be laying the foundations for the cloud gaming revolution. Once deployed, a user will be able to play any Stadia compatible game from their TV or Chrome, without having to subscribe to a subscription. Simply by paying the price of the digital version.

Price for Stadia

Google is not necessarily known for its gaming positioning, so the company must be aggressive commercially to make its hole in the sector. This is the case with its package called “Founding Edition” including the limited edition Stadia blue controller, an Ultra Chromecast, the Destiny 2 game and three months of subscription to Stadia Pro (with the possibility to book its pseudo Stadia first and to invite a friend). All for the sum of 129 euro. The pack, available as pre-order on the site Stadia.com, is available in limited quantities. Google then offers two formulas. The first, named Stadia Pro, will give access to some games for 9.99 euros per month. However, you will have to pay to take advantage of the latest ones. The second Formula, Stadia Base, is free. The subscriber is however limited to 1080p while the members of the Stadia Pro will be able to play up to 4K and 60 frames per second. He will also have to pay for each title in the catalog he wants to play. This formula will not be available until 2020.

Release Date Stadia

Stadia will be launched in November 2019 in 14 countries: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Other countries are expected to follow in 2020.

How to Play Stadia

On the Web, interested users will need a good internet connection and an updated version of Chrome to be able to enjoy the Google platform. The latter requires a streaming capacity of the order of 10 Mb / s in download and 1 Mb / s in upload. However, a capacity of 35 Mb / s will be required to take advantage of the complete 4K experience. The latency should be less than 40 ms. Google promises a latency level identical to that of the Xbox One S. using Chromecast will allow the user to play on his TV screen. The release of Stadia is accompanied by the launch of a new feature called “State Share” that will allow a player to propose to those who follow him live to replicate the experience he is experiencing by sharing identifiers that will allow them to make the same journey as him. A way, for example, to challenge them to break his record. The use of a Chromecast is also necessary to play on its TV.

Editorial Partners of Stadia

The platform will offer 31 games at launch. The beta version allowed to play a game, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, which will be well available on Google Stadia. The choice of Ubisoft as the first partner is no small matter. This is the only major studio to have signed no alliance with a console manufacturer. Doom Eternal, as already announced, but also the last three opuses of the Tomb Raider saga will be available. The Stadia Connect allowed to discover the cinematics of games like getting Pack, which will be available in 2020, and Tom Clancy’s The Division 2. Discussions will be more difficult with the other actors. Including Epic Games, the originator of the planetary success Fortnite, which still refuses today that the Android version of its game is accessible from the Google Play Store. Or Electronic Arts, the publishers of franchises such as Battlefield and Fifa, which unveiled its cloud gaming platform, Atlas, at the end of October. And since we’re never better served than by ourselves, the band also announced the launch of “Stadia Games and Entertainment”, its very first video game studio. The activity is led by Jade Raymond, one of the stars of the sector, passed by Ubisoft and EA Sports. Jade Raymond, onstage during the keynote presentation in March, explained that his team would also work with developers around the world to offer third-party game innovative within the platform.

Control Unit

A patent filed by the firm of Mountain View allowed the discovery of a controller that looked a bit like the one of the PS4, on which one noted the presence of a button dedicated to Google’s voice assistant. The specialist press was right; Google has indeed unveiled its first homemade joystick. This Stadia controller features a share button and a special Google Assistant button. What to allow the user to use the IA made in Google to enjoy specific features. But Google also announced that all controllers compatible with the USB HID standard would eventually be supported by Stadia. This means that Sony’s Dualshock 3 and 4 for PlayStation, Xbox controllers and Switch controllers are compatible with the service. Note that to play with a Chromecast, users must use the Stadia controller. The latter integrates the necessary WiFi connection directly with the service to control the video game.