Google Stadia Won’t Have Cheaper Games

If you were thinking of getting games on Google Stadia because they were going to be cheaper, we have very bad news for you.

If you were thinking of getting games on Google Stadia because they were going to be cheaper, we have bad news for you.

Phil Harrison, project manager on the streaming platform, shared that Stadia games will cost the same as they do on existing platforms.

“I don’t know why it would be cheaper,” Harrison told Eurogamer. “The value you get from the game on Stadia means you can play it on any screen in your life – TV, PC, laptop, tablet, phone. I think that is going to be valuable to players.”

So, Google’s idea is that Stadia offers an added value in the fact that players can play their favorite games on a plethora of devices. This accessibility makes up for the fact that Stadia players don’t own a physical copy of their game, or even a digital version.

On the subject of why Google didn’t push on the subscription side of things, Harrison added that not every publisher and gamer is ready for that kind of product. Google is interested in granting everyone the opportunity to purchase content on their own, individually.

“Not every developer and publisher is ready to move to a subscription yet,” he said. “Frankly, not every gamer is ready to move to a subscription yet. So we wanted to give gamers a choice so they could engage in the games they wanted in the way they wanted – and in all cases, without the very high upfront cost of buying a sophisticated device to put under their TV or on their desk.”

As for the price of those individual purchases, there’s been no decision on that exact number. This matter is something those at Stadia are going to need to speak with publishers and developers about to settle on an agreeable amount.

“The publisher or the developer is in as much control of the prices as we are, so it’s a bit difficult for me to say what the prices will be right now,” he revealed. “But, we’re obviously going to be very aware of prevailing prices in the marketplace.”

Google Stadia releases in November via a limited Founder’s Edition, and won’t be coming in a beta before of the launch.