Google Stadia: 10 Questions We Need Answering ASAP
9. How Much Will It Cost? Is The A Monthly Fee?
1380399First and foremost, Google failed to reveal what Stadia's business model is.
Is it a subscription service? If so, we'd like to know how much it's going to cost; if it will be comparable to Xbox Game Pass/PlayStation Now, or something more expensive that includes various third-party day-one releases.
Alternatively, Stadia could work with a tie-in subscription to YouTube Premium. Google showed the service working almost exclusively with YouTube, and put a massive emphasis on streamers, so that could make sense, but it also alienates a massive amount of people who don't care about upgrading a formerly free service.
If the service is subscription based with only a handful of Google exclusive games a year (presumably), then why would anyone opt for that over Steam or Epic Games? If it is a subscription service, and the games are pay-to-play, then you'd be paying to simply play your games across multiple devices. However, that angle doesn't seem especially enticing.
At this stage, more brass tacks information is sorely needed.