Later this year, Google is launching the cloud gaming platform Stadia and shaking up the home console market. Google has slowly rolled out info on how it could work and, now, set the stage for Stadia’s launch with pricing info, game reveals likeDestiny 2andThe Elder Scrolls Online, and more ahead of E3 2019.
The first game revealed was Larian Studios’Baldur’s Gate 3and the studio’s founder Swen Vincke shared that the development team had to triple its size to work on it. Larian elevated its profile with the tactical RPGsDivinity: Original SinandOriginal Sin 2and get a chance to take major steps forward by handling the long-awaited sequel to a beloved franchise.Baldur’s Gate 3is also notable because it shows that Stadia is taking advantage of the recent resurgence of classic RPGs and tactical RPGs coming to home consoles. Larian Studios andPillars of Eternitycreator Obsidian have been instrumental in this and old-school classics likeBaldur’s GateandPlanescape: Tormentare being ported to PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One by developer Beamdog.Baldur’s Gate 3’s release date wasn’t revealed.
The next title revealed was a Google Stadia version of the recently announcedGhost Recon Breakpoint. No new information on the game itself was shown, but the reveal did end with a tease of four-player cooperative play powered by the stream connect feature. This feature allows for split-screen gaming with online companions, emulating local co-op play. TheGhost Recon Breakpointtrailer was immediately followed by the announcement ofGylt, a stealth horror game. That was followed by the top-down titleGet Packed,which features four-player gameplay in a chaotic physics sandbox.
There were additional games revealed in a montage at the end of the stream and in a splash page listing devs and publishers contributing to Stadia:
Access to Google Stadiais handled a couple of ways, and there’s a founder’s pack for the platform that will include a handful of items to get players started. Google Stadia launches in fall 2019, so there is still a lot of time left for additional launch announcements.
