The release date applies for 14 countries, including Canada. That cost won’t include newer games. The platform is also launching a free version, where users can buy games individually and play them through its system. Stadia will not be accessible through browsers or phones until 2020—at time of launch, users will only be able to use the platform through its in-house controller and a Chromecast connected to a television. Many of the games it’s currently offering, including Ghost Recon and The Division 2, are from Ubisoft; titles from other major players, like Rockstar and Electronic Arts, have yet to be announced. The service isn’t yet offering exclusives. (La Presse, Bloomberg, Kotaku)

Talking point: Stadia is the first of the Big Tech gaming subscriptions services to set a price. Apple’s Arcade, which is set to launch this fall, and a Sony-Microsoft collaboration, which doesn’t yet have a launch date, are both upcoming competitors. The latter is Google’s main competitor. The Alphabet-owned company’s biggest edge over others in this market is the size and speed of its global cable and data centre network, which fuels its cloud, and Microsoft has a comparable system. Though the release of Stadia marks a shift in the gaming industry—as games are typically only available individually for as much as US$80 apiece—it may be tough to market to its target demographic: hardcore gamers. According to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Matthew Kanterman, they prefer owning their content and storing it locally, unlike Stadia’s cloud-based model. And, rollout for the service will be slow: the subscription-based service won’t be available until 2020. Users will have to purchase the US$130 Founder’s Edition to be able to play this year.