Stadia tests offering free month of Stadia Pro for referring a friend

For a few months now, we’ve been watching work progress on a full referral system for Stadia, one that offers an incentive for both the sender and recipient. Today, a limited number of Stadia players have begun to be offered this new referral and reward system.

Initially spotted by our APK Insight team, the Stadia app for Android has been preparing for Stadia Pro members to refer their friends to Stadia and, more specifically, refer them to a Stadia Pro subscription. When we last saw the feature in progress, the referral gives the recipient two months of Stadia Pro for free — versus the usual one month trial. Meanwhile, the referrer is promised a free month of Pro added to their own membership once their friend pays for their first month of Stadia.

Friends get a 1 month trial of Stadia Pro plus an extra free month by using your link. They can play instantly, no controller needed.

Get a free month of Stadia Pro when a friend signs up with your link and pays for their first month of Pro.

Today, someone shared a screenshot of Stadia’s referral system in action with the folks behind esStadia on Twitter, via Stadia Source. In the screenshot, the envelope icon normally seen in the top bar has been replaced with a gift icon.

The visuals line up with an identical gift-shaped graphic found in recent versions of the Stadia app, which lends credence to this being a legitimate screenshot. Further, esStadia has shared a video from their tipster showing the new UI in motion.

From what we can gather, this seems to currently be a limited test, a common practice for Google. If all goes well, this new referral system could start to roll out wider in the coming weeks.

This referral system seems like a solid continuation of Google’s effort to bring more players to Stadia. In a similar drive, the recent “Good Stuff” demos allow anyone to try Stadia with no subscription or payment method required.

More on Stadia:

• ‘Hello Engineer’ is a Stadia-exclusive multiplayer spin-off of Hello Neighbor
• Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order coming to Stadia on November 24
• Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle brings a battle royale to the arcade classic, exclusively on Stadia