Google to launch Stadia on November 19th

Google has confirmed that those who pre-ordered the Stadia Founder's Edition bundle, its early-adopter cloud gaming offering, will be able to start playing on November 19th.

Announced back in March as the commercialisation of the Project Stream in-browser cloud-gaming effort kicked off in October 2018. Designed to bring triple-A games to less powerful devices, Google's Stadia has a few clever tricks up its sleeve to get around some of the usual pain points of cloud gaming - including plans to reduce latency through an artificially intelligent 'lag buffer,' though the feature will not be available at launch.

Those who pre-ordered the Stadia Founder's Edition bundle will, Google's John Justice has confirmed, be able to start using the service from November 19th. 'Stadia Founder’s Edition will start arriving on gamers’ doorsteps on November 19th, 2019. If you were one of the first gamers who pre-ordered and have received your Founder’s Editions, you’ll be able to buy and play your favourite games beginning at 9AM PST/5PM BST/6PM CET,' Justice writes in a project update. 'You can play Red Dead Redemption 2, Mortal Kombat 11, Kine, and more on your TV, laptop, desktop, and select tablets and phones.

'Whether you ordered Stadia Founder’s Edition or Premiere Edition, you’ll have three months of Stadia Pro, with access to Destiny 2: The Collection. Using the included Chromecast Ultra and Stadia Controller, you’ll be gaming in up to 4K HDR with 5.1 surround sound when playing on your TV.'

Google's Stadia has come in for criticism owing to its somewhat unusual business model: Where most subscription-based cloud gaming services operate on an all-you-can-eat Netflix-style model, Stadia will require players to purchase each game they want to play outright on top of the monthly subscription charge. While a free membership tier will also be available, dropping the stream quality and reducing the audio to two-channel stereo, this will not be live when the service launches in November.

More information on Google's Stadia is available on the official website.