Google’s Stadia will be missing a host of features when it launches next week

Over at Reddit a couple of members from the Google Stadia team conducted an AMA and true to the name of the event everything was asked and a lot of answers were given — not always avoiding the hard answers like so many of these AMAs end up doing.

The AMA with Andrey Doronichev (Director of Product for Stadia) and Beri Lee (Director of Publisher Experience on Stadia) revealed a long list of features that will be missing from Stadia when it launches next week. The list of features missing on launch day includes:

• PC Chrome gameplay will not support 4K, HDR nor 5.1 surround sound with these features being added next year.
• Family sharing will not be available until “early next year” as well which could mean double purchasing until this feature goes live — no thanks.
• Stream Connect, State Share, and Crowd Play are features that make multiplayer with others possible but will not be available at launch.
  they will be rolled out when games supporting them are launched — seems fair.
• Many users will not have their founder’s Edition controllers on launch day with shipping dates often well after the launch day.
• Google Assistant integration will be limited to turning on the Tv and starting a game. More support will be coming “soon after launch”.
• Chromecast Ultra units included in the Founders/Premiere bundles are the only Chromecast Ultras that will work at launch. Other ultras will receive an OTA update “soon after launch” to enable Stadia gameplay.
• Games can only be setup and purchased from a phone with Chromecast Ultra and Web not supported at this stage.
• The Stadia Controller’s wireless functions will only work with Chromecast Ultra at launch — which is why the Claw phone mount seems to have a cable connecting the controller to the phone.
• Mobile support at launch will be limited to Pixel phones and ChomeOS tablets. No timeframe was given for expanding this support.

Other interesting answers included that Stadia may use up to 20GB per hour at its highest visual quality (ouch), and regular games as freebies will be included in the Stadia Pro subscription.

It seems that Google will be treating the rollout of Stadia the same as they do every other product — “gradual rollout” with “continuous improvement” based on user feedback.

Hopefully all the bugs are ironed out and all features launched before it lands here in Australia, assuming it ever does. As a casual gamer this is something I could certainly get behind — how about you?