Google Stadia Price & Specs – A Good Thing For Esports?

Google finally acknowledged that video games and esports overall are booming. This is why Google decided to provide us with Google Stadia, a gaming platform that can be compared to Netflix. On November 19th, we will find out if this is the future of esports or is Stadia google gaming platform just filled with hype.

What is Google Stadia?

As mentioned above, we can easily compare Google Stadia gaming platform with a very popular streaming platform Netflix. Even though this may seem like a crazy process to you, trust me when I say it, it is really simple.

The best thing about it is that you do not even have to buy video games anymore and you will not have to invest a ton of money on your PC. The only thing that you will need is a fast and reliable network. From what we were able to find out, you will need at least 20 Mbits in order to enjoy Stadia Google gaming platform.

Furthermore, Google Stadia is based on Cloud gaming. A lot of you are probably wondering about latency and ping issues. There is no denying that we will see latency issues eventually, but Google Stadia development team will definitely work hard to get things in order.

Another thing that Google Stadia gaming platform will promise you is speed. Once you have hit that “play” button, it will take no more than 5 seconds for you to be up and running. There are no updates, queues, loading screens or anything similar to that.

Specs

Even though we waited for a long time to get this answer, Google finally revealed the full specs of their cloud gaming platform. The system itself is based on Linux. You can find other specifications below.

CPU: 27.GHz Hyper-Threaded CPU, ACVX2 SIMD, 9.5MB L2+L3 Cache

GPU: AMD(unknown)

RAM: 16GB HBM2 Memory, up to 484GB/S Bandwith

STORAGE: SSD Cloud Storage

Price

On November 19th, a total of 14 countries will have access to Stadia Google gaming platform. A total of 31 games will be added once the platform is live. Let’s talk about price.

Founder’s edition will cost you $130 for a hardware starter kit. Furthermore, you will also be rewarded with three months of premium service. After 90 days, you will pay additional $10 per month.

It is also important to mention that Google stated that you should buy the games you want to play and that renting cloud games is not what Stadia platform will be based on.

Google Stadia Games List

Bandai Namco: Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 Bethesda: Doom Eternal (delayed till March), Doom 2016, Rage 2, The Elder Scrolls Online, Wolfenstein: Youngblood

Doom Eternal (delayed till March), Doom 2016, Rage 2, The Elder Scrolls Online, Wolfenstein: Youngblood Bungie: Destiny 2

Destiny 2 Capcom: TBD

TBD CD Projekt Red: Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 Coatsink: Get Packed (Stadia exclusive)

Get Packed (Stadia exclusive) Codemasters: GRID

GRID Deep Silver: Metro Exodus

Metro Exodus DotEmu: Windjammers 2

Windjammers 2 Drool: Thumper

Thumper Electronic Arts: TBD

TBD Giants Software: Farming Simulator 19

Farming Simulator 19 Gwen Frey: Kine

Kine Larian Studios: Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 nWay Games: Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid

Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid Robot Entertainment: Orcs Must Die 3!

Orcs Must Die 3! Rockstar Games: Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 Sega: Football Manager 2020

Football Manager 2020 SNK: Samurai Shodown

Samurai Shodown Square Enix: Final Fantasy XV, Marvel’s Avengers, Tomb Raider Definitive Edition, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Final Fantasy XV, Marvel’s Avengers, Tomb Raider Definitive Edition, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of the Tomb Raider Superhot Team: Superhot Mind Control Delete

Superhot Mind Control Delete 2K Games: NBA 2K20, Borderlands 3

NBA 2K20, Borderlands 3 Tequila Works: Gylt (Stadia exclusive) Warner Bros.: Mortal Kombat 11

Gylt (Stadia exclusive) Warner Bros.: Mortal Kombat 11 THQ: Darksiders Genesis, Destroy All Humans

Darksiders Genesis, Destroy All Humans Ubisoft: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Gods and Monsters, Just Dance, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, Trials Rising, The Crew 2, Watch Dogs Legion

How Will This Gaming Platform Affect Esports?

At the moment, there is a huge question mark above esports and Stadia. We simply do not know how will this affect the future of esports gaming, but we do know one thing.

We all know that Google is a giant corporation and they will definitely want to get involved in the esports scene. This will benefit games such as CSGO, League of Legends, Dota 2, Overwatch, etc. as they will get more exposure and eventually, more people will start playing video games.

This will lead to a bigger fan base and the bigger talent pool. If we take CSGO as an example, we can see youngsters that are 15 or 16 years old and they are already playing their hearts out in front of the big stage. Now imagine how would this explode if Google decides to promote esports.

To summarize, if Google decides to actively participate in esports, the entire scene will blow up. Given the fact Stadia is still in the early stage of development, we will have to stick around and see what will they bring to the table and how will they address possible latency problems. No one wants to play a game where you are lagging behind your enemies. To be honest, we all hate that and paying $130 for that type of service is simply not a smart idea. All in all, the future of Google Stadia is definitely interesting.