Stadia UI (shown by Google)
Google Stadia’s launch is less than a week away, but from where things stand right now, it feels more like an early beta test or a trial balloon for a “console-as-service” launch, albeit without an actual box.
We already got a confirmed list of Stadia launch games which is only twelve titles, and most of those are older releases. And now yesterday in a reddit AMA we got confirmation on a whole lot of Stadia features that…will also not be available right at launch.
Some more games are coming this year, so are some features, but launch day/week in particular may be quite anemic. As a refresher, here’s the list of twelve launch day games for Stadia, 25% of which are Tomb Raider games:
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
- Destiny 2: The Collection
- GYLT
- Just Dance 2020
- Kine
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- SAMURAI SHODOWN
- Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
- Rise of the Tomb Raider
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
- Thumper
But after the reddit AMA, there are some promised features that are not going to be there at launch either, which include:
An achievement system, which will not be live at launch, though the qualifications for those achievements are being tracked still, and you will be given credit for them when the system does go live. This launches “shortly” after launch.
Stadia has a system called Family Link which can allow parents to set restrictions for their kids, but this is different than a family account where members can share games. You literally have to buy multiple copies of a game if different family members want to play their own versions. Sharing games is “high priority” and should arrive some time in 2020.
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 15: The new Google Stadia gaming system controller is displayed during a ... [+]
Stream Connect, which would allow local multiplayer sessions using different, conjoined Stadia Streams will not arrive at launch, and only one game is supposed to utilize it before 2020.
State Share and Crowd Play, more advertised Stadia features, won’t arrive until sometime in 2020.
Stadia Buddy Pass, which lets you gift Stadia to friends, will be live two weeks after launch.
Stadia will not work on Chromecasts you already own right away, only the Ultra that comes with the Stadia Founder’s Edition. Other Chromecasts will be patched to work sometime after launch.
In response to when iOS would support Stadia, the developer in the AMA literally responded “Oh man I wish I knew.” Later, they offered to drive a Stadia personally to one commenter’s house to ensure it made it there for launch day (Google has said not all Stadia Founders will be guaranteed to get theirs on launch day).
I have been a Stadia skeptic for a while now, but frankly, Google is making it kind of hard not to be. Stadia is coming across like a system that should have been delayed to launch with a more robust game catalog and more of the promised features that are now apparently going to be trickled out over the next few weeks and months. It’s not like all consoles or gaming platforms don’t add in features over time, but it certainly feels like if Google Stadia wanted to make a strong, serious first impression it would launch in a more comprehensive fashion than what we’re seeing here. And this isn’t free-to-play early access, nor is it Chrome or YouTube or Google.com which consumers are accessing for free, this is a product that is selling founder’s kits and full-priced games and a subscription.
We will see how it all shakes out during launch next week. Look for my review of Stadia then.
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