Google Stadia: Everything you need to know

Google’s Stadia platform is still relatively new to the scene, and being a new gaming commodity entirely, it still struggles to get recognized in places where other established platforms are. This past week, the Stadia fanbase rallied behind an effort to have more games rated on Metacritic, a show of the platform’s strong community.

Google is adding five games to Stadia Pro for August 2021 in a slight increase from previous months. The first four titles have already launched, while GRIME will debut with the subscription next month.

Upcoming 4X game, HUMANKIND will introduce a new “direct touch” control method to Stadia for mobile, along with an in-depth integration of Stadia’s State Share.

The highly-rumored trilogy of Grand Theft Auto remasters is now reportedly coming to more platforms, including Google Stadia.

Google’s ride with its first-party studio, Stadia Games & Entertainment, was a roller coaster ride for hundreds of developers, but it might have a good outcome for at least one team. The folks behind Journey to the Savage Planet have formed a new studio and obtained the IP back from Google.

Google is offering up yet another game for free for Stadia this weekend, this time delivering Far Cry 5 for a few days.

The latest update to Stadia for Android, version 3.28, works toward taking screenshots and accessing Assistant with third-party controllers, joining parties from your phone, and more.

On Friday, the Google Store introduced a permanent Chromecast with Google TV and Stadia Controller “package.” The Stadia Controller is now seeing a $10 price cut to $59.99.

Google’s Stadia Pro subscription may not include every game on the service, but it’s made nearly 100 titles available to subscribers since its 2019 launch. This month, though, the record holder for the longest-claimable Stadia Pro title, PUBG, has left the subscription.

With the launch of Stadia for Android TV last month, Google started offering a discount for those that purchased the Chromecast with Google TV and Controller together. The Google Store is making the Stadia Controller and Chromecast an official “Package” today and discounting Premiere Edition further.

While Stadia only saw one new game release this week, it saw quite a few notable updates, including Get Packed Fully Loaded, which is now available on Stadia and other platforms too.

The Stadia for Android and Google TV app officially launches today — though we’ve been using it for a few days through a simple workaround. As part of that, the Google Store is offering a “special offer” that gives you a small deal when buying both the Chromecast with Google TV and Stadia Controller. 

After closing its in-house Stadia Games & Entertainment studios earlier this year, many have wondered what the future of Google’s game streaming ambitions will look like. Apparently, it will indeed include Stadia becoming the backend of other streaming platforms as a “white label” option.

Google this evening updated a privacy setting in Stadia that lets you “control what information is visible to others through newly added features.” The change in question suggests that you’ll soon be able to send Stadia friend requests if you know a person’s email address or phone number.

Off the news of June’s Pro games and a more specific release window for Ark: Survival Evolved, Google has another announcement for new games on Stadia this week. Over the next few months, the hit game Control: Ultimate Edition will be heading to Stadia along with Olympic Games Tokyo.

As Google focuses on bringing more games to the Stadia platform through third-party developers, all eyes have been on devs both big and small. This week, though, concerns arose surrounding Google’s latest revenue models, and while some may be valid, there is some good news, too.

When Stadia was first announced, Google (and many others) talked about the potential crossover with its video service. One of those YouTube integrations is now opening up more widely with the ability to sign-up for a beta of Stadia Crowd Play.

One of the most exciting promises of Stadia on Android TV is that you can get great video games directly on your smart TV, all you may need to buy is a controller. The latest update to Stadia for Android continues working toward playing games on your TV using your phone as a controller.

Ubisoft just announced its latest installment in the Tom Clancy series, the free-to-play shooter “XDefiant,” which will be arriving on Google Stadia.

As we pass the midway point of July, Stadia only saw one new game this week, but it did see some notable game updates including a huge update to Baldur’s Gate 3 and an unfortunate delay for Rainbow Six Extraction.