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Google Stadia free tier to launch over the next "few months"

""No money down, without having to put a box in your home"

Google Stadia free tier to launch over the next "few months"

Cloud game streaming platform Google Stadia will launch a free tier over the coming months.

Speaking to Protocol, Google Stadia head Phil Harrison outlined the company's plans for the streaming service in 2020, confirming its arrival in near-future. 

The free tier for the service was announced in March 2019, however was expected to arrive not far after launch in November but was subsequently pushed back, alongside other features. 

Currently, Stadia owners need to pay $129 for the Founders' pack then a further $9.99 a month for the subscription.

The good, the bad, the ugly

"No money down, without having to put a box in your home, you can just click and play amazing games straight from our data centre," said Harrison. 

"From a broader industry perspective, we are now seeing the shift from games being device-centric, which has been the model for the last 40 years, to a model where the data center becomes the platform," added Harrison. 

"This shift to the cloud will be the defining change in how games are created and played."

Google recently teamed up with telecommunications firm BT to offer customers a broadband package that included a Stadia Founders edition.

This was following consumers complaints that the firm wasn't updating users outside of a monthly update via the Google Keyword blog.


Staff Writer

Kayleigh is the Staff Writer for PocketGamer.biz. Besides PGbiz and PCGI she has written as a list writer for Game Rant, rambling about any and all things games related. You can also find her on Twitter talking utter nonsense.