Google will give you free Stadia hardware if you buy a game

Google is offering a free Stadia Premiere Edition kit if you purchase a standard Stadia game. This hardware bundle includes a Chromecast Ultra and Stadia controller, and you’ll need to purchase a game at full price ($ 59.99 or more) to qualify for the offer. Google’s free tier will be valid until October 10 at 11:59 p.m. PT, and codes will be distributed by October 20.

Stadia Premier Edition free tier will be available in US, UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway , Finland, Austria and Switzerland. Google typically sells its Stadia Premiere Edition for $ 79.99.

This isn’t the first time that Google has offered Stadia hardware for free. In November, Google began offering Stadia Premiere Edition kits to YouTube Premium subscribers. If you bought Cyberpunk 2077 on Stadia during its November launch period, Google also offered Stadia Premiere Edition kits. More recently, Google has also offered this same set of material with purchases of Resident Evil Village.

While Google insists it’s still committed to Stadia, the writing is on the wall for how long the service survives in its current form. Google decided earlier this year that it no longer wanted to be a games company and that it no longer wanted to make its own games. This has led to a number of high-profile departures throughout 2021, including the departure of Google’s director of games for a position in Google’s cloud team last month. Google now defines Stadia as a “technology platform for industry partners,” which means the service could eventually grow into a white-label cloud gaming service.

Despite Google Stadia’s struggles, service has improved this year. Google recently slashed its share of developer revenue, added a direct touchscreen control option, and also launched Stadia for the Chromecast with Google TV.