How Google Stadia Game Pricing Could Work, According To Ubisoft’s CEO

Google’s Stadia announcement shared an in-depth look at the streaming platform, technology, features, and more. One conspicuously missing component was price: There was no word on what the first-party controller or–more importantly–games themselves will cost. Ubisoft’s Yves Guillemot, whose company partnered with Google for the Project Stream test last year, shared some thoughts in an interview. Project Stream was a free test of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, but how will we pay for future games offered through Stadia?

“I think we will have a multitude of ways,” Guillemot told GameSpot. “Either you buy full price and you play; or you will be able to also register, possibly, to play either one hour or two hours a day. There will be plenty of ways.”

The question of price is looming over the Stadia platform, since streaming games from the cloud is such a different model than traditional game sales. As opposed to buying a physical copy that you can hold, or even a digital copy that downloads data onto your console, consumers will have to get accustomed to paying for the ability to stream a game. Guillemot’s comments suggest that traditional purchases and perhaps a Netflix-style subscription model are on the table, and he’s had plenty of time to think about the subject.

“We have been working with Google for a long time now,” he said. “The first time we went to see them [Google] was six years ago, about what was the beginning of what this is today. We even created at that time a joint venture with Square Enix to do that job. We have been looking at that technology for a long time.”

For more on Google’s cloud platform, catch up with all we know about Stadia. Or you can read our primer on why cloud gaming is the next big thing, and see some of the competition Google will face with the companies investing in cloud tech.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-google-stadia-game-pricing-could-work-accordin/1100-6465689/