Google Stadia Pro will be giving players two free games in January 2020, as long as they have an active account. Google announced the free games this week, revealing that Crystal Dynamics’ Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration and the rhythm-action game from Drool, Thumper, will be given away. Players are eligible to grab the free games starting on January 1st.
Currently, Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, Farming Simulator 19 Platinum Edition, Destiny 2: The Collection, and Samurai Showdown are all free for Pro subscribers. So if you haven’t grabbed Google Stadia Pro yet, maybe this will convince you that it’s time to make the jump. Google Stadia Pro is a paid service addon to the basic Stadia app. Those who pay in get access to a library of premium games for free, as well as their à la carte games that they’ve purchased. Stadia Pro users also get a handful of added features which improve the experience, assuming you have the bandwidth to support these new additions.
Google Stadia Pro allows users to get full 4K resolution, 5.1 surround sound, additional free games every month, and even some discounts on certain titles. The privilege of these features costs $9.99 a month. Despite these features though, many insiders in the games industry are concerned about the long-term viability of the product.
Google Stadia itself launched with only 22 games on offer, after Google quickly rushed another 10 out the door ahead of launch. Noticeable latency issues were also reported, even for users in major metropolitan areas. These issues combined with the very difficult network limitations surrounding speeds and bandwidth make this a very niche product. And after launch, noted issues with lacking features left a lot of early adopters feeling underwhelmed.