You’ll be able to try Stadia for free in the next few months

Google Stadia has had mixed reviews since launch. One or two teething problems meant some gamers didn’t want to shell out their hard-earned money to try the platform, but soon you’ll be able to do so for free, according to Google.

Google’s Vice President, Phil Harrison, told Protocol: “The big strategic difference is that over the next few months you will be able to experience Stadia for free… No money down, without having to put a box in your home, you can just click and play amazing games straight from our data centre.”

So, why is Google investing so much in gaming? The simplest explanation is that the industry is bigger than ever. Gaming is no longer a fringe-genre in tech, it’s a commercial giant, raking in far more cash than the film industry.

Harrison explained: “For many years the game industry was somewhat overshadowed by music and movies and was always trying to justify itself as a form of mainstream media and entertainment… Now, games are far and away the largest entertainment medium on the planet from a digital perspective, so that global scale and size is attractive to the large technology companies as a way of bringing their products and services to more people.”

When our team got hands on with Stadia they gave the gaming platform a three-and-a-half star rating. The general consensus seems to be that yes, streaming games really is the future, but right now the native hardware of traditional consoles can outgun any game streaming platform. How long will that remain the case though? That’s the big question.

Our reviewer, Ryan Jones, said: “Google Stadia shows a lot of promise, and could be a great option for those who want to game without spending a fortune on a console assuming Google develops the service – and who knows. But with lots of missing features at launch, it’s got a long way to go to become a serious challenger to PlayStation and Xbox.”