Enlarge / A good Stadia idea finally comes to Google. (credit: Google / Sam Machkovech)

The earliest sales pitch for Stadia , the Google streaming service that beams high-end video games to web browsers via the cloud, included the idea that it might work as simply as Googling your favorite game. You might search for a popular game to learn more about it, only to immediately see an option to start playing it inside your web browser, no additional hardware required—and perhaps no payment, either.

Nearly three years after Stadia's official launch —and 18 months after the service's massive internal downgrade —that scenario has finally begun to play out. What's more, the feature appears to be streamer-agnostic, as multiple Stadia-like streaming services have started appearing in search results.

Oh, look, Stadia trials get a slightly spiffier font

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  That's a handy way to learn that Destiny 2 is immediately playable in my web browser... entirely for free... on more than one compatible service!

This week, Google rolled out a limited launch of a "Play Now" tab that appears on searches for select video games on desktop browsers. (As of press time, out of three Google accounts tested, the search results shown in this article only appear on one of them.) This tab can be found in the right-hand "knowledge panel" that is otherwise automatically populated with user reviews, game details, and digital download purchase links.

Stadia has confirmed another few new announcements for their Linux-powered game streaming service that will be coming soon. Some out now, some have no release date yet.has confirmed another few new announcements for their Linux-powered game streaming service that will be coming soon, although neither has an actual release date.

Two recently we missed were Street Power Football and Hundred Days , both of which are out now and available on the Stadia store.

As for other titles coming up? Just this week they announced Super Animal Royale and Shantae and the Pirate's Curse will be coming over to Stadia. Super Animal Royale will be "Coming Soon" with no clearer date. It's going to be free to play too, so it gives people yet another chance to try out something on Stadia with no commitment to anything.

Watch video on YouTube.com

Meanwhile Shantae and the Pirate's Curse is said to be coming out on Stadia "Summer 2021".

If you missed it, Stadia claim the service is "alive and well" in a recent interview. Certainly will be interesting to see how long Stadia sticks around for, with ~100 games coming to it this year. Stadia still have a problem of getting their marketing right too - so many people still don't quite understand Stadia itself is free as Stadia Pro is an optional subscription to get free games and 4K support (varies between games). Stadia really need to be making all of it a lot clearer for potential people to sign up to it.

Play Stadia on Linux on Stadia.com with a Chromium browser.

Despite everywhere you look there's always someone pointing to the Google Graveyard, the game streaming service Stadia is still soldiering on in the face of overwhelming competition.

In a new interview with GamesIndustry.biz , Stadia's developer marketing lead Nate Ahearn says the service is actually "alive and well" and went on to mention how they have over 100 new titles launching for Stadia through 2021. They're also continuing to grow their Stadia Makers program where they help Unity developers port to Stadia (with another 20 coming from that) along with continuing partnerships with many AAA studios like Capcom, EA, Square Enix, Ubisoft and others.

A while ago Google shut down the Stadia Games & Entertainment studio, which seemed like a bad sign. Following that, they lost key developers like Jade Raymond, John Justice and a bunch of other staff members recently who all joined Raymond's new Haven Studio. Were those all signs of a service in trouble? Not quite , it's pretty much just the tail-end of SG&E closing. Still, no big first-party exclusive games to pull people in isn't doing the service any favours.

Stadia, much like Linux desktop gaming, faces a huge uphill battle to actually win people over. The tech is there, it just needs a lot more games and people to actually use it. For Stadia especially, they have to fight off the upcoming Amazon Luna along with Xbox Cloud Gaming - both of which will give a much more Netflix-like subscription model rather than buying individual games.

In other news, Stadia recently finally got a search bar and more UI changes planned.

Play Stadia on Linux on Stadia.com with a Chromium browser.

Despite the rising amount of people believing Stadia won't be around for long, we're into another year and Google have announced that more than 100 games will release for Stadia through 2021.

After a pretty rough time with Terraria cancelled and bridges burned, along with Stadia shutting down first-party game development which left a lot of Stadia users worried they definitely needed to put out some good news. In a fresh community post , the Stadia team officially announced "more than 100 games that will be added to the Stadia store for our players in 2021".

Here's more of what they just recently confirmed:

Shantae: Half-Genie Hero Ultimate Edition (Feb. 23)

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The Stadia team also reiterated that plenty more are also confirmed and have been announced previously like Far Cry 6, Riders Republic and Hello Engineer.

You can play on Stadia.com with a Chrome based browser.

While Google hasn't seen the best news with Stadia lately after stopping first-party games and Terraria being cancelled , the store continues on with some fresh announcements of new games, updates and some sales.

Firstly, a quick look at the new games. For those subscribing to Stadia Pro, the just released horror adventure Little Nightmares II is going to be another game you can claim free with the sub. Additionally, Pikuniku , the colourful and quirky platformer is now live to buy in the Stadia store.

Now Stadia also has another free to play game, as Crayta now has a Starter Edition available for everyone. Allowing anyone to jump in to create and play games, plus it has expanded with the Stadia Crowd Play Beta feature which allows people to jump right into the action if someone is streaming the game to YouTube:

Watch video on YouTube.com

Crayta will also be heading to the Epic Store for the main Windows release, so no Linux desktop support - Stadia only. It will have cross-platform play and cross-progression so either way a nice boost in player numbers perhaps.

As for game updates PAC-MAN Mega Tunnel Battle got a new addon that gives new themes, special items, new player icons and character accessories. Destiny 2 also continues to be updated for Stadia with the Season of the Chosen now live but no word yet on the cross-play for it.

Something that has been asked a lot in the Stadia community is for FIFA to come, probably the biggest Football game around. Well, it's now confirmed. FIFA 21 arrives on Stadia on March 17.

There's also quite a few games on sale you can see on Stadia.com .

One of the features Google talked about early with Stadia is finally coming and that is State Share. Allowing players to share specific playable moments of captures and it's launching with HITMAN 3 . This is another tick in the box, finally, of nearly all the features promised by Google for Stadia well over a year after launch.

It sounds like a pretty fun system too, with the Stadia team saying it "turns a normal image or video capture into a portal to a unique game experience" and that "By embedding a game state within each capture, sharing gameplay for others to watch is transformed into a chance to try a playable slice of the game yourself. Each game state is defined by specific gameplay elements like player loadout, objectives, and difficulty, and trying each one is as easy as clicking a link".

Mechanically simple for actual users too which is the important part. Needing you to only capture a shot or video using Stadia's built-in features, allowing you to then (in supported games) turn it into a State Share link to send onto anyone else. From there, people with the link can then jump into the action at that moment if they own the game on Stadia. Each game will vary on what exactly it does.

For HITMAN 3 the Save State will allow:

• Mission starting location within the beginning of the level
• Mission objectives
• Player loadout (including weapon, gear, and clothing)
• Mission difficulty

State Share will be supported in HITMAN 3 as the first title on Stadia when it launches on January 20. The Stadia team expect more titles to support it through 2021.

For the Stadia users amongst our readership: two more big name games will be heading to the Linux and Vulkan powered game streaming service this month. Interestingly, both of which outside of Stadia will be Epic Games Store exclusives and will not be available on Steam.

First up is Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game - Complete Edition , this updated re-release of a much loved 2010 title comes after the original was delisted from all platforms back in 2014. It releases for Stadia on January 14 for $14.99 / €14.99 / £14.99.

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For Linux users, Stadia continues to be an interesting option since Epic don't support Linux at all. At least with Stadia, it's supported directly on any system that can run Chrome (also works with other Chromium based browsers).

We'll be back with more Stadia news when we have it.

As a new month has begun, Google has rolled out multiple new titles for subscribers of the optional Stadia Pro subscription. Here's what they are and what else is to come to Stadia.

While not quite as big as December 2020 which ended up giving Stadia Pro subscribers 9 games to claim overall, there's still some good stuff going in. New games available to claim right now include:

• F1 2020
• Hotline Miami
• Figment
• Ary and the Secret of Seasons

Additionally, they didn't announced it previously but El Hijo - A Wild West Tale is also now available in Stadia Pro to claim.

Meanwhile Celeste, Dead by Daylight, Embr, GYLT, Risk of Rain 2, and Rock of Ages III all left Stadia Pro at the end of December as Google previously announced. However, it appears that Jotun and Lara Croft GO also left Stadia Pro as well without being announced so it's possible the extra free game was to make up for it. Bit of an odd start for Stadia this year.

Here's the list of what you can currently claim free with Stadia Pro:

Cthulhu Saves Christmas, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds – Breakthrough Edition, Figment, El Hijo, Outcasters (exclusive), Submerged: Hidden Depths (exclusive), Secret Neighbor, Into the Breach, EVERSPACE, Monster Jam Steel Titans, Ary and the Secret of Seasons, Hello Neighbor: Hide and Seek, Sniper Elite 4, The Gardens Between, Human: Fall Flat Stadia Edition, Hotline Miami, République, HITMAN, HITMAN 2, Gunsport (exclusive), SUPERHOT: MCD, Orcs Must Die! 3 (exclusive), F1 2020, Crayta: Premium Edition (exclusive), Panzer Dragoon: Remake, Sundered: Eldritch Edition, SteamWorld Heist, SteamWorld Dig, SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech, SteamWorld Dig 2, Kine

For games releasing on Stadia through 2021 we know of some pretty big titles including:

• DIRT 5
• DISCO ELYSIUM - The Final Cut
• HUMANKIND
• Hitman 3
• Journey to the Savage Planet: Employee of the Month Edition (will be free for Stadia Pro)
• Outriders: Journey Into the Unknown
• Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game

You can play Stadia on Linux through a Chromium browser on Stadia.com .

A few bits of big news to go over for Stadia followers on Linux, as there's new games released, free games, games on sale and a whole lot more.

Firstly, time is running out to spend the $10 / £10 credit that Stadia Pro users get as this will vanish in January 2021. This is the same credit they've had up for some time now so if you've already used it - there's no more but a reminder for anyone that hasn't.

Want some free games? Stadia Pro subscribers can claim the newly released Stadia title Cthulhu Saves Christmas. Additionally, Stadia Pro subs can also now claim the PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds – Breakthrough Edition bundle.

The Stadia team has also revealed what's coming to Stadia Pro in January 2021:

• F1 2020 - Open-wheel racing at its finest!
• Hotline Miami - A fast, visceral top-down shooter that rewards the quick and punishes the hesitant.
• Figment - A musical journey through the mind.
• Ary and the Secret of Seasons - A colorful action-RPG that encourages you to explore a mysterious world.

Sadly though, a few titles will be leaving Stadia Pro and so they will need to be purchased normally on Stadia if you do not claim them before the end of December 2020. The titles leaving Pro are: Celeste, Dead by Daylight, Embr, GYLT, Risk of Rain 2, and Rock of Ages III.

Additionally, these titles got released into the Stadia store:

• Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light - Team up and take down the haunted ruins of the ancient world in this co-op take on Tomb Raider. Buy it on the Stadia store.
• Enter the Gungeon - Shoot gun-related things with other bigger guns. Buy it on the Stadia store.
• Reigns - Rule a kingdom one card at a time in this inventive blend of a god game and a card game. Purchase it on the Stadia store.

Stadia also has its own big holiday sale, with tons of huge titles discounted. Not only that, anyone (Stadia Pro not required) can claim Crayta: Premium Edition completely free to keep (100% off) until January 5. Don't know what Crayta is? It's like Roblox with Fortnite style graphics - a game where people make games, and lots of people play online together.

To add to all that, it seems Google has now expanded again, and they're letting people sign up and test for at least 30 minutes before any payment info is required. They still clearly want people to subscribe to Stadia Pro, and you get a free month but needing people to cancel that is a bit of a nuisance. Hopefully that will be relaxed even further as time goes on.

You can play Stadia on Linux through a Chromium browser on Stadia.com .