Google Stadia's launch date is fast approaching, and they've just announced that the number of launch titles has doubled. Initially announcing twelve games, that number was increased to an incredible twenty-two for gamers to look forward to on November 19th when the platform goes live. Some of the new titles were not supposed to become available before 2020. No, Cyberpunk 2077 is not on the updated launch list.
First announced in a tweet by Phil Harrison, Vice President and General Manager at Google, it turns out that the old list with twelve games that featured, for example, three Tomb Raider games has been enriched with titles such as Attack on Titan: Final Battle 2, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, and Farming Simulator 2019, all of which were supposed to launch by the end of this year.
Here's the full, updated list:
Old titles:
- Assassin's Creed Odyssey
- Destiny 2: The Collection
- Gylt
- Just Dance 2020
- Kine
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- Rise of the Tomb Raider
- Samurai Shodown
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
- Thumper
- Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
New titles:
- Attack on Titan: Final Battle 2
- Farming Simulator 2019
- Final Fantasy XV
- Football Manager 2020
- Grid 2019
- Metro Exodus
- NBA 2K20
- Rage 2
- Trials Rising
- Wolfenstein: Youngblood
You may have noticed that the new titles are all games that were supposed to be launched by the end of 2019, but were moved up, while the only ones from the previous end-of-2019 list that did not make the cut for November 19th are Darksider Genesis and Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2. These are still going live as scheduled, but this list is also joined by Borderlands 3 and Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint, which we weren't supposed to see until next year. Remaining for 2020 are Doom Eternal, Cyberpunk 2077, Gods and Monsters, and Watch Dogs: Legion. There are many other titles with still unknown release dates, like Get Packed, a couch co-op game that will be a Stadia exclusive.
If you're unsure about these games, there's nothing to worry about: in the coming months, Google Stadia will be adding a trial option for both the service and its games. But this may pose a problem for fans using ISPs with data caps, which Google believes is up to the providers themselves and, well, not really Google's problem.
The community, however, does not seem thrilled, as Stadia is struggling to preserve people's interest. "Dead on arrival" seems to be the most common verdict seen on Twitter, with people explaining that paying for both Stadia and any games they want - many of which people already own, or are waiting for sales to get them cheaper - is a lot to ask for. The new additions to the launch list are considered to be Stadia's desperate attempt to bring more relevance to their product, but a significant number of gamers are simply not having it. As one user puts it, "Stadia is like watching a car crash in slow motion while the driver is constantly giving a thumbs up."