Yesterday Google revealed the lineup of games that will be available on Stadia at launch. They also added that fourteen other games will be coming to the service before the end of 2019, making for a grand total of twenty-six games in all. Looking through the games available, I saw some that I’m really looking forward to playing, as well as others that I don’t really care about. This got me thinking, what will everyone be playing when Stadia launches, and will that affect the stability of the service?
The games that will launch on Stadia are as follows.
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
- Destiny 2: The Collection
- Gylt
- Just Dance 2020
- Kine
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- Rise of the Tomb Raider
- Samurai Shodown
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
- Thumper
- Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
The games that should be added to Stadia by the end of 2019 are below.
- Attack on Titan 2: Final Battle
- Borderlands 3
- Darksiders: Genesis
- Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
- Farming Simulator 19
- Final Fantasy 15
- Football Manager 2020
- Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint
- Grid
- Metro: Exodus
- NBA 2K20
- Rage 2
- Trials Rising
- Wolfenstein: Youngblood
What Will People be Playing at Launch?
As you can see, there are some massive game son this list, as well as some much more minor titles. From the launch list I can see a couple of games that I think will be the biggest, and most popular, for Stadia users. These are Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Destiny 2: The Collection. As a Destiny 2 player, I’ll be trying out the Stadia version because I just love the game. With Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Red Dead Redemption 2, I can see users jumping on the two biggest triple A releases and just sticking there, especially if Red Dead Online is also part of the offering here.
However, if everyone piles into these games, or a maybe some others, will that affect the stability of the service? I don’t understand the inner workings of Stadia, but it would stand to reason that there are a set number of servers running each game. If more players than are expected jump into a game, will that mean that the game suffers for everyone? Or will the servers take power from elsewhere to cope? I don’t have an answer, but I think it’ll be really interesting to see just where users are spending their time, and how that correlates to a steady Stadia service.
Why Will People be Playing Certain Games More Than Others?
There are some of this year’s biggest releases on this list of titles, namely Borderlands 3 and Ghost Recon: Breakpoint. Users are going to be jumping on these games because they’re too expensive to buy so close to each other at launch, but now they can access them as part of what is effectively a bundle. Usually gamers need to choose a particular game for a month or a few months, and then stick with it, because games are really bloody expensive. With Stadia’s offering, it’s much easier to jump in and out of some of the biggest games on the market, including brand new ones.
One game I can see everyone playing at launch is Gylt, but that’s just because it’s an exclusive game to the platform. I think that everyone will want to try the game out on Stadia because it’s not available anywhere else, and that’s just part of the culture that we live in. More people will be attracted to it because there’s less access, much like how PlayStation and Xbox players flock to their exclusives.
Unfortunately, outside of the big titles and Gylt, there’s very little to draw users into Stadia. Of course the other aspect of the service is that it can be used in Google Chrome anywhere, which is a huge bonus over home consoles. I can’t wait to see how the industry adapts with Stadia, and how consumers choose to enjoy it alongside their other home gaming and on-the-go options.