New Chromebooks Include Google Stadia Pre-Installed

Anyone purchasing a new Chromebook will get Google Stadia too. This comes after the company made the decision to shutter their in-house studio for game development on the platform. Google is trying to get Stadia into as many hands as possible this year. Having it rolling on any and all units sold right now. The official Twitter account for Made By Google discussed how they came to this decision. But, the messaging is clear, for this cloud gaming gambit to work, it's going to take a lot more users. Their company has mounted an advertising blitz since the early days of the service to increase awareness, but things haven't broken through just yet. Also of note here is the fact that Stadia works through a progressive web app on the chrome books. The experience is actually a little bit different than it would be on Android.

Much was made of Google's decision to shut down that internal development studio. Here's what Phil Harrison had to say about the decision when it came down.

Did you know Chromebooks now come with @GoogleStadia already installed? Start playing games without waiting for downloads or updates. Click the Stadia icon in your app menu to get started. pic.twitter.com/iV1Mb32pYP

— Made By Google (@madebygoogle) February 9, 2021

"We launched Stadia with the goal of making your favorite games instantly available wherever you want to play them. With the recent successful launch of Cyberpunk 2077 on Stadia, gameplay on all types of devices, including iOS, growing our slate of YouTube integrations, and our global expansions, it's clear that Stadia's technology has been proven and works at scale," he explained. "Having games streamed to any screen is the future of this industry, and we'll continue to invest in Stadia and its underlying platform to provide the best cloud gaming experience for our partners and the gaming community. This has been the vision of Stadia since the beginning."

Harrison added, "In 2021, we're expanding our efforts to help game developers and publishers take advantage of our platform technology and deliver games directly to their players. We see an important opportunity to work with partners seeking a gaming solution all built on Stadia's advanced technical infrastructure and platform tools. We believe this is the best path to building Stadia into a long-term, sustainable business that helps grow the industry."

Have you tried Stadia yet? Let us know down in the comments!