In recent years, the cloud gaming market has gained a number of new names, and none has been more hyped than Google Stadia. Launched in late 2019, it ran into a few stumbling blocks along the way, but its pivot to focusing on third-party game hosting has seen it flourish. Now a mainstay in the cloud streaming industry, Stadia has a lot to offer. We tested both the free and Pro versions of the service. Let’s see how it all stands up.
THE PLANS
Google Stadia comes in two forms: free and Pro. With the free access, you’re able to play a select few free games, such as Destiny 2, or games that you bought for Stadia at up to 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second, including any online multiplayer games. That’s it; you can fully play games that you buy without the need to purchase any expensive hardware—as long as your internet connection is up to handling it, which requires a minimum of 10Mbps.
Stadia Pro supports streaming games at up to 4K resolution, 60fps, with HDR and 5.1 surround support with connections of 35Mbps or greater. Additionally, Stadia Pro will provide a handful of free games that you can claim to your library to play as long as your Pro subscription is active. Most games, however, are neither free nor included in Stadia Pro, but instead have to be bought. Some games do have discounts for Pro members, though.
GAME LIBRARY
This story is from the August 2022 edition of PCWorld.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 2022 edition of PCWorld.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Facebook wants to use your posts to train Al. Here's how to object
Facebook is changing its privacy policy and plans to use posts and images to train its Al. To prevent this, you need to object.
Windows 11's new AI feature could be a privacy nightmare
Your PC will be watching your every move by default.
The future of Windows: Copilot+ PCs unleash practical AI tools
Microsoft is aligning AI with its Copilot brand.
If you get a phone call from LastPass, it's a scam
A new breed of sophisticated phishing scammers are targetting LastPass users with phone calls and emails.
Sick of ads in Windows? This ingenious program eradicates them all
This clever free tool removes all the ads that Microsoft keeps stuffing into Windows 10 and 11.
Controversial Windows 11 Start menu ads begin rolling out
Microsoft has pushed “Promoted” apps from the Store to the Windows 11 wide build just a few weeks after they started appearing to Insiders.
Ring of bogus web shops steals 850K credit card numbers
Fake online storefronts, which show up in great numbers in Google and other search engines, are becoming a big problem.
This free, ancient Windows app will watch your laptop battery
BatteryInfoView gives you the laptop battery information you didn’t know you wanted.
How to use your smartphone as a Windows 11 PC webcam
Windows 11 now allows the wireless connection of Android smartphones for use as a webcam.
How to digitize VHS tapes the cheap way
Preserve your old video tapes with an inexpensive capture card and free software.