Stadia drops “Stadia Base” brand as it launches free tier

Stadia have revealed that they have moved away from the “Stadia Base”  name – the original branding for Stadia’s free tier – following this month’s reveal that Stadia is now available to everyone with a Gmail account, alongside offering 2 months free of Stadia Pro.

The announcement comes via a Stadia community post, where Google confirmed they were abandoning the “Stadia Base” brand.

“Last week, Stadia opened up access to Stadia to everyone in our 14 launch countries. Some of you may be wondering if this is Stadia Base. While we’ve decided to move away from that name, we’re very excited that Stadia is now free and open to everyone who wants to create an account in our supported markets.”

Users who allow their Stadia Pro subscriptions to expire will maintain access to games purchased during the free Stadia trial, and will have the option at the end of the subscription period to continue to purchase games for the platform without the need for Stadia Pro – Stadia Base in practice, if not in name.

Additionally, Google has confirmed to Gamesindustry.biz that users who let their Stadia Pro subscriptions end will still be able to purchase and play games via the store, with their resolutions capped at 1080p/60fps, as was the original plan for Stadia Base.

Google’s offer for 2 months free of Stadia Pro – alongside the launch of its free tier, has seen total installations jump to one million. The launch of the offer marked the biggest week for new users to the Stadia, which 225,000 installs across both iOS and Android – 50 per cent higher than the 150,000 installs during the Stadia’s launch in November last year.

“Keeping social distance is vital, but staying home for long periods can be difficult and feel isolating,” wrote Stadia vice president Phil Harrison in a blog post, “Video games can be a valuable way to socialise with friends and family when you’re stuck at home, so we’re giving gamers in 14 countries free access to Stadia for two months.”