Stadia ToS hints at PWA, pre-ordering games, family sharing restrictions

Earlier this week, Stadia for Android revealed a slew of details about the game streaming service. Ahead of the launch in nine days, the Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and other documents are now available, and hints at some more tidbits.

Three pages (via Reddit) are available today at stadia.google.com, which looks to be the service’s domain instead of just stadia.com: Stadia Terms of Service, Stadia End User License Agreement for Content, and Stadia Privacy Notice. The first two documents were last modified on Tuesday, November 5th.

Progressive Web App

In Chrome on desktop and mobile, visiting any of these pages prompts you to “Install” Stadia. PWAs bring native capabilities to websites, including adding an app icon to your dock or desktop. This provides quicker access than entering the URL every time you want to play or manage settings, while it removes visual cruft like the address bar from windows. Given the presence of an Android app, this is likely for desktop computers.

Stadia Beta

Oddly, the current page name for all these sites is “Stadia Beta.” This could just be the experience for Googlers or other early players of the service, and change come November 19th.

Restrictions

Some online have quickly taken concern with one of the “Restrictions” under “Using Stadia” in the ToS. However, general streaming — as suggested by the line in parentheses — is a legal activity that should be allowed.

You may not:

use any stream ripping, stream capture, or similar software to record or create a copy of any Content, even if no fee is charged (except where doing so would not constitute a copyright infringement);

Pre-ordering

You’ll be able to pre-order games ahead of their release on Stadia. Additionally, there will be a Refund Policy, but that document is not yet available with the rest of the Google Stadia ToS today.

Pre-Orders. When you place a pre-order for Content, you will receive an email confirming the pre-order only. Your contract for the purchase and use of that Content is completed when the Content becomes available to you, and you will be charged for the purchase at that time. You can cancel your pre-order at any time up to the point when the Content becomes available. Google will cancel your pre-order if the Content is previously withdrawn from sale through Stadia and we reserve the right to cancel your order in the event the price changes before your order is fulfilled.

Family Sharing

Stadia will feature Family Link controls, as well as the ability to share a library. However, there looks to be a key caveat where only one instance of a game can be played at a time. However, presumably, each family member will have their own progress and game data.

The corresponding Content may only be accessed once at any given time. As such, family members will not be able to access the same Content simultaneously using a single license.

Code of Conduct

Stadia will have a Code of Conduct, though the document is not yet live. Google has the ability to suspend, limit, or revoke your access due to any violations.

While using Stadia and Content, you must follow the Stadia Code of Conduct. If Google determines that you have materially or repeatedly violated any of the Terms, including those guidelines, then your access to Stadia or certain Content or Service functionality may be suspended, limited, or revoked, depending on the severity and number of violations.

Service interruption

As we spotted before, there are times where the service may be temporarily unavailable. The Google Stadia ToS reaffirms that:

However, you may temporarily lose access to the Services or to such Content due to temporary Service interruption, scheduled maintenance, or limited server capacity in your area. Such short interruptions of Service do not entitle you to any refunds (for more information on refunds, please see Stadia’s Refund Policy and the further explanations below).