Google Stadia Release Date Confirmed but with a Caveat

The News

The wait is finally over. The Google Stadia release date is confirmed for November 19^th at 9am PST according to the company’s official YouTube channel. For newcomers, Google Stadia is a Netflix-like service for video games. Instead of purchasing hardware, Google Stadia harnesses the power of the Internet to stream video games. The Stadia Founder’s Pack went on sale on October 15^th for $129.99 and includes a Stadia controller, Chromecast Ultra, Destiny 2 and three free months of Stadia Pro. Google announced on its official twitter handle today that the Stadia Founder’s pack has sold out.

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That's a wrap! Stadia Founder’s Edition has completely sold out. We can’t wait to welcome all of our Founders to play Stadia on November 19.

Stadia Premiere Edition is now available for pre-order in all launch countries. Get yours today > https://t.co/FvgaT3vE15 pic.twitter.com/7Zo952wVDv

— Stadia (@GoogleStadia) October 22, 2019

Our Concerns

While the hype surrounding Google’s new streaming platform is strong, Google chose to eliminate a few very important details. At GamingROI, we have questions on the following:

• As of October 22, Google has confirmed just two launch titles – Destiny 2: The Collection and Red Dead Redemption 2. While both games offer many hours of content, Google has not revealed the launch dates on the other 29 confirmed titles. Early adopters should prepare themselves to be able to play only D2 and RDR2 on launch day.  
• Google Stadia’s marketing campaign is centered streaming content to any device that supports the Google Chrome browser. Although this feature is a key selling point, the service can only be used with Google Chromecast on the release date. Google has yet to confirm the release date for PC and mobile devices.  

The hype surrounding the Google Stadia release date is real; however, we question the scope of the early market response. As history has shown, software drives sales. The PlayStation 4 just surpassed 100 million units, and the Switch recently passed 15 million units in North America. Both companies have reported strong hardware sales as a result of exclusive software releases. Until publishers release new content or Google creates its own, Google Stadia will fall behind in relevancy. Perhaps the Google Stadia release date is merely a beta test for early adopters. Regardless, gamers should temper expectations with the Stadia release date.

Be sure to check out our other News items on Modern Warfare, Capcom, and Blizzard. Happy Gaming!