Google Stadia: Everything you need to know

One of the awkward things about Google Stadia since launch is that the web, Chromecast, and Android versions don’t all support the same features. Among other work found in Stadia version 2.26, Google is working on one feature missing from Stadia for Android — voice chat support.

Asus helped kick off the gaming phone market with its ROG series, and with its third generation, the product continues to become more and more polished. Here’s what you need to know about Asus ROG Phone 3.

Google Stadia’s launch wasn’t great, but I’ve always seen the potential in Google’s promises for the platform. I’ve also kept up a Pro membership and even purchased games as my desire to use the platform stuck around. However, I’m a picky gamer, and not a single one of the titles on Google Stadia kept my interest for more than a few hours. Now, though, I finally have a reason to constantly play Stadia, and it’s really reminding me just how amazing this experience can be.

Today marked the second Stadia Connect event for 2020, revealing a variety of new games coming soon to Google’s Stadia game streaming platform. During the video event, Google announced five new partnerships between Stadia Games and Entertainment and renowned game studios like Harmonix and Supermassive Games.

Google Stadia has plenty of timed exclusives, but not too many true exclusives. Today during its Connect stream, Google announced Outcasters, a unique multiplayer combat game that you’ll only find on Stadia.

Today, Google is hosting their second Stadia Connect of 2020, a livestream event showcasing the latest games and features coming to Google Stadia. Here’s everything Google announced during the July 2020 Stadia Connect event.

Last year at GDC 2019, side-by-side with the announcement of Google Stadia, the company also unveiled its efforts to deliver fantastic games for the streaming service, through a new division of Google — Stadia Games and Entertainment. Now, nearly eight months into Stadia’s life, Stadia Games and Entertainment has delivered its first release in the form of Orcs Must Die! 3.

At GDC 2019, when Google unveiled Stadia to game developers, “State Share” was a very prominent feature touted as only being possible thanks to the cloud gaming platform.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Since launch, Google Stadia has been amassing a collection of timed exclusive “First on Stadia” titles, including Get Packed, Embr, and most recently Crayta. The next Stadia exclusive to release, Orcs Must Die! 3, has had its launch trailer leaked, showing it to be a free Stadia Pro title.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Last month, Google dropped the price of Stadia Premiere Edition to $99.99. All Pixelbook, Pixelbook Go, and Pixel Slate owners in the US can now get a $20 discount on that hardware bundle from the Google Store.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Earlier this month, Google already announced that Crayta will be free on Pro. The world-building title is part of July 2020’s four Stadia Pro games.

Expand
Expanding
Close

One of the most unique aspects of Google Stadia is its controller, which instead of connecting wirelessly over Bluetooth, connects over Wi-Fi directly to your Stadia instance. Starting today, you can now use the Stadia Controller wirelessly when playing on your Android phone.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Since launching in December, Stadia’s Achievements page is still only available on the web and Chromecast Ultra. Google Stadia is now displaying “total play time” and other game-specific statistics in Achievements.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Nearly every Made by Google product released in the last few years includes a way to invoke the Google Assistant, and the Stadia Controller is no different. The Stadia Controller’s Google Assistant button has suddenly become far more useful, as you can now use it while playing your games.

Expand
Expanding
Close