It’s Already Game Over for Google Stadia (Premium)

And just like that, I’ve canceled my Google Stadia Founder’s Edition bundle: Microsoft Project xCloud is the way forward.

Granted, I did call this months ago: When the community started fretting over Google’s entry into game streaming, I reminded everyone in March that Microsoft has huge advantages over the search giant in this market.

“Unlike Google, Microsoft has decades of experience in the video game business,” I wrote at the time. “That means it has long-established relationships with developers, game makers, and game publishers big and small. It has three generations of Xbox console games that it can bring forward via its proven Backward Compatibility and Xbox Play Anywhere technologies. It has online services like Xbox Live and Xbox Game Pass that can move seamlessly to this new platform, taking tens of millions of dedicated Xbox gamers with it. And it has established first-party game studios, and dozens of hit game series, from Minecraft to Halo to Gears of War to Forza and more.”

With a single flex of its considerable muscles, Microsoft this week announced that it is now offering over 50 games via its Project xCloud service, which is now in preview. Google will launch Stadia next week with just 12 games, not even 1/4th of what Microsoft is offering in preview. But check this out.

“The over 3,500 games on Xbox One today and 1,900 games currently in development are already working on xCloud,” Microsoft revealed, hinting at the vast expanse of games that we could soon access from the service, and really driving home my quote point above.

Microsoft also revealed that Project xCloud is coming to Windows PCs (which is no surprise) and that it will expand to include more input types beyond the Xbox Wireless Controller, including, of course, Sony’s DualShock 4 wireless controller, plus gamepads from Razer.

Microsoft also announced that it is expanding the xCloud preview to include more players, and it will invite gamers from Canada, India, Japan, and Western Europe to experience the preview soon.

So, neat, I was right about something for a change. But there have been hints all year that Google’s offering would not meet the hype. We found out, for example, that the Stadia controller would need to be used with a USB cable unless you were streaming over a Chromecast Ultra, at launch. We learned about the service launching with just 12 game titles, an Apple TV+-like pittance. We learned that some features won’t even be enabled or available at launch. And, most recently, we learned that game publishers are worried that Google will quickly kill off Stadia, as it does with so many of its products and services.

I’m calling it. This is game over for Google Stadia.

Long live Project xCloud. I’m all in. And any gamer---hardcore, serious, or casual---should be as well.

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