Articles by Thomas J Meyer

Stadia Pro members can claim the new release for free.

What you need to know

Wavetale is a story-driven action adventure game that was announced and launched today on Stadia.
It can be purchased in the store or claimed at no additional cost for Stadia Pro members.
Google is having a Stadia indie sale with discounts on over 20 games until November 18.

Thunderful Publishing announced and launched Wavetale on Stadia today, as revealed by actor and host Mark Hamill during the Thunderful World digital games showcase.

Wavetale is a third-person action adventure game that follows Sigrid, “a young girl who befriends a mysterious shadow that provides her with the power to walk on water.” Players are tasked to “unravel stories of the past, save the islanders from mysterious sea creatures, and discover secrets hidden under the surface” in this game from creators of Lost in Random and the SteamWorld series.

The game is available now on the Stadia store for $30, but can be claimed by Stadi…

The feature was quietly added to the profile’s privacy settings.

What you need to know

Google Stadia players can now join friends’ multiplayer games without first needing an invite.
The new option can be found in the privacy settings and was enabled by default, despite Google saying otherwise.
The feature is currently available in select games like Far Cry 6.

Google Stadia finally allows players to join friends’ multiplayer games without requiring an invite, two years since the streaming gaming platform launched.

The basic feature can be found in the Stadia user’s privacy settings under Your activity, then Current game, and as Join your current game. The option is turned off by default, according to the official support page, but was already enabled for my Stadia account and confirmed to 9to5Google and The Verge.

Stadia users can change whether just friends, friends and their friends, or all players can join their game without needing an invite. It can also be set to private…

Google’s vision for the future of gaming is here.

The world of gaming is changing, thanks in part to new cloud gaming platforms like Google Stadia. Rather than coming to market with another console or PC competitor, Google employed its powerful cloud-streaming tech to allow anyone with a fast internet connection to play AAA games on their phones, tablets, Chromebooks, Macbooks, and other underpowered devices. While we’re big fans of Stadia, it’s undeniable that the service is going through some serious issues lately.

Ready to learn more? Let’s dive in.

Everything you need

Play and Watch with Google TV Package

$100 at Google

A good way to start

Play and Watch with Google TV Package is the latest bundle that contains the Chromecast with Google TV and a Stadia controller to easily start playing Stadia games on the television.

Stadia:

How it works
Plans and global availability
Reviews and recent news
Is Stadia shutting down?
Supported devices
Stadia controllers and acce…

Web users can now share and view game captures.

What you need to know

Ubisoft’s recently released Riders Republic now has a timed, free trial on Stadia following Hello Engineer and Control.
Google is rolling out the Explore Feed feature for Stadia web users, allowing players to view and share game captures.
Stadia Pro subscribers can play Ghost Recon Breakpoint for free this weekend only.

Stadia is adding more free trials of games alongside a social feature coming to those who play on the web and a free play weekend for Stadia Pro subscribers.

Riders Republic, Ubisoft’s extreme racing game which launched on Stadia last week, now offers a free, two-hour trial for Stadia players to try out the game before buying. Google allowed games to have free trials beginning last week with 30-minute timed trials of multiplayer construction game Hello Engineer and single-player action game Control Ultimate Edition.

Google also revealed that an Explore Feed will be rolling out to all Stadia u…

Voice commands can handle a lot more as well.

What you need to know

The v34 update is rolling out today on Oculus Quest headsets with new and improved features.
Space Sense officially comes to the platform and allows users to see real life objects and other people from within the headset.
The update also improves voice commands to handle more tasks and adds the ability to see Android phone notifications while in VR.

The latest update for Oculus Quest and Oculus Quest 2 headsets is rolling out today and adds new and improved features to stay connected in virtual reality.

The biggest addition in the v34 update is the new Space Sense feature. First datamined in an earlier Oculus Quest update, the feature allows users to see when real life objects or other people have entered their VR playing space without taking off the headset. Any furniture, people, or large pets that enter the user’s Guardian bounds will be highlighted in the headset and “surrounded by a pink-ish glow.”

While …

Four games coming on November 1.

What you need to know

Google revealed four more games that Stadia Pro members can play with their subscription starting Nov. 1.
The four games are Saints Row 4: Re-Elected, Hundred Days – Winemaking Simulator, Dirt 5, and Kemono Heroes.
Valkyria Chronicles IV will be leaving Stadia Pro on Nov. 1.

Stadia Pro will be adding another four games to its catalog of over 30 titles that subscribers can claim next month, Google announced in a blog post.

Members can claim Saints Row 4: Re-Elected beginning Monday, Nov. 1, which is launching alongside the Stadia store. This port of the 2013 third-person action-adventure game includes all downloadable content and add-ons, and would be a great way to scratch that Saints Row itch before the reboot comes out next year.

The other games coming to Stadia Pro on the same day include off-road racing game Dirt 5, management title Hundred Days – Winemaking Simulator, and four-player retro side-scroller Kemono Heroes….

World War Z: Aftermath on Stadia comes with cross-platform play.

What you need to know

World War Z: Aftermath and Fire Commander will be coming to Stadia.
World War Z: Aftermath is an upgraded version of co-op shooter World War Z coming this winter.
Fire Commander is an isometric RTS about fighting fires and managing a fire station coming sometime in 2022.

Google announced two more games coming to the Stadia store over the next year with World War Z: Aftermath and Fire Commander.

World War Z: Aftermath is an upgraded version of the 2019 third-person cooperative zombie shooter and adds all of the content from the Game of the Year edition, three new locations, new characters, a revised melee system, and a first-person mode. The Stadia version will also receive the Horde Mode XL game mode, where players fight endless waves of zombies, in a post-launch update.

The game originally launched last September for PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and will be c…

Free trials are currently limited to 30 minutes but that could change.

What you need to know

Stadia now allows games to offer free trials so players can try a game before purchasing or subscribing to Stadia Pro if it is available on the service.
Multiplayer construction game Hello Engineer is the first Stadia title to offer a 30-minute free trial.
Google says it is experimenting with the feature and game trials could change time allotted or what players can access them.

Google Stadia is now offering free game trials for players to try a game before buying it, starting with one game and potentially expanding over the next couple months.

The company quietly added the feature, as 9to5Google reports, with multiplayer construction game Hello Engineer being the first title. Stadia players can sign in and click on the free trial option from the game’s store page to begin a 30-minute trial. It is important to note that pausing within the game does not pause the trial, so the 30-minute …

Over 20 Stadia games use the streaming service’s unique features.

What you need to know

The Stadia versions of Doom Eternal and Serious Sam 4 have added exclusive features not found on other platforms.
Doom Eternal players can share their Horde Mode challenges with State Share, and YouTube streamers can play Serious Sam 4 with their audience using Crowd Play.
There are now 24 games in the Stadia catalog that use the platform’s exclusive features such as Crowd Choice, Crowd Play, State Share, and Stream Connect.

Google revealed today that Bethesda’s Doom Eternal and Croteam’s Serious Sam 4 will take advantage of Stadia exclusive features with State Share and Crowd Play, respectively.

Doom Eternal released its appropriately themed 6.66 update today with two new master levels, a refreshed version of its Battlemode, and the new Horde mode. The single-player, arcade-styled Horde mode offers waves of enemies to defeat to earn player skins and high scores, and Stadia players can now u…

Which games have features only available on Stadia?

Google Stadia allows players to access games through the cloud through PC, Android TV or Google TV devices, and smartphones. No downloads are required whether starting a game for the first time or when there is an update. The streaming platform also enables games to include special features that cannot be implemented in the PC or console versions such as launching gameplay from a screenshot or joining games through YouTube livestreams.

The four Stadia exclusive features are Crowd Choice, Crowd Play, State Share, and Stream Connect. While the list of games that use any one of these features is small, it does contain some of the best Stadia games and will continue to grow as more titles are being added to the Stadia store.

Crowd Choice

Crowd Choice allows YouTube streamers to include their audience when it comes to making decisions in-game. Polls can be created at specific points while playing. Then, viewers can pick the best an…