BBC Scotland – The Social – Cloud gaming – the end for traditional consoles?

Unlike Netflix, Stadia has you purchasing the games you want to play rather than streaming anything you like for a monthly fee. Now that there is a free option available, you are able to buy whichever games you want, and stream them straight from Google’s high powered servers. The benefits of paying the subscription fee is higher quality streaming, discounts and free games.

When you look through the game library, you may find yourself feeling like you’ve just walked into a second-hand game shop. Some games (like Super Bomberman R Online) are exclusive to Stadia but you’ve probably already played most of the games that are on offer. While games like Cyberpunk have been released on Stadia, you will still find a lot of major titles missing.

Even with all the promising hardware and features, a gaming platform is no use without games. While the library may not have too much new for a major gamer, it’s a pretty good list for anyone new to gaming. The Xbox Series S has created an affordable stepping stone to console gaming which, alongside Gamepass and xCloud, is surely causing Google a headache. However, because Stadia doesn’t need much hardware to play, it’s the perfect platform for someone who isn’t already super into games.