Google Stadia Details Leaked by Canadian Site Ahead of Stadia Connect

Published: June 6, 2019 11:56 AM /

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Google Announces Stadia Connect Conference For June 6

Google Stadia was first announced at GDC 2019 earlier this year with a live demo of the streaming technology that will allow anyone to play games through Google Chrome, with the games running on Google’s servers rather than the PC itself. It’s a groundbreaking technology that promises to disrupt the gaming industry and market, both on PC and consoles. While Google shared some information during GDC 2019, most of us still have many questions about the technology and the service. We've speculated about it, but we were still waiting for more confirmed information during today's Stadia Connect conference.

Now a French Canadian outlet has accidentally broken the embargo on a pre-briefing that Google offered to some outlets. Although the information has already been taken down, Resetera user LordKano managed to snap and translate the details from French, with the caveat that the pricing is very likely in Canadian dollars rather than United States dollars.

- Launch in November in 14 countries (including Canada) - You can preorder the "Founder's Edition" of Stadia for 169$ today, which includes the gamepad, a Chromecast Ultra (which is 6cm in length), Destiny 2 and three months of subscription - Stadia works through a subscription only at first. The Stadia Pro sub costs 11.99$ per month and will include streaming up to 4K/60fps. Note that only "older" games will be included in this sub, and more recent games will have to be bought separately. - A separate sub will be available in 2020, and is completely free. It'll only allow up to 1080p streaming, and won't include any game like the Pro sub. - 10mbps in download/1mbp in upload is the minimal requirement, with 35mbps required for 4K "optimal comfort". - You'll need the Chromecast for Stadia to work at launch, but it's planned to work through any Google device with Google Chrome in 2020. - Games planned include Destiny 2, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, The Divison 2, DOOM, all three Tomb Raider games. - Line-up will have 31 games at launch.
A lot of potential users will probably be disappointed with the Founder's Edition including a Chromecast Ultra, given that the whole point of Stadia is that it shouldn't require any external device apart from the PC itself with Google Chrome installed. It seems you'll require the streaming device at first, but only until next year when Stadia will be compatible with any Google device. If the Chromecast Ultra will become obsolete in a year, what's the point of it? Apparently, it's only so users can stream to their 4K TVs that don't support Google Chrome.

In either case, part of this information has been confirmed as reliable by Jason Schreier, who says he's been expecting a similar pricing model ever since Stadia was announced by Google. It would make sense that AAA developers wouldn't allow their brand new games to be playable through a subscription program, and instead requiring separate purchase, so no surprises there. We had already had reported on rumors that Destiny 2 would be on Stadia at launch, and this leak seems to confirm that rumor, though it doesn't mention the cross-save feature.

https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1136617031686664193

We'll find out more in about an hour, as the Google Stadia conference starts and our coverage team will report on any inconsistencies between this leaked information and the official announcements.

What do you think of these details? Is Stadia worth trying at launch, or only after Google sorts everything out? Let us know in the comments below!

Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net


Richard Costa
| Staff Writer

Hack for hire, indentured egghead, maverick thoughtcriminal. Mainly interested in Western RPGs, first-person immersion, turn-based tactics, point-and-… More about Richard