Google Stadia lets you see teammate's screens

Google's new Stadia game-streaming platform has some innovative features that can change multiplayer gaming.

Google's online-only Stadia is chock-full of good ideas (and admittedly some bad ones). The $10 a month service that beams games to your TV, PC, or Pixel 3 smartphone offers nifty features like save state sharing and its new Stream Connect functionality that affords new tactical capabilities to squad-based titles.

Google briefly showed off Stream Connect during a Ghost Recon: Breakpoint stream. The feature adds live picture-in-picture feeds of your teammate's screens, adding another layer to cohesive team synergy. Players can see exactly what their teammates are doing and what's around them to strategically plot out their next moves. Multiplayer games like The Division 2, Destiny 2, and Borderlands 3 could benefit tremendously from this system especially during harder endgame raids or missions.

via GIPHY

As for Stadia itself, Google plans to release a ton of AAA games onto the service. But there's one big drawback: you'll have to buy a lot of them separately. Stadia has two different options, a free version that requires gamers to buy title separately, or a $10 a month Stadia Pro subscription that routinely folds in games over time.

Stadia Pro is set to release in 2019 but the free version, where games are sold a la carte, won't be available until 2020.

Check below for more info on pricing and games availability at launch:

Stadia Launch Games

• Baldur's Gate 3
• Borderlands 3
• Ghost Recon: Breakpoint
• Gylt
• Get Packed
• The Division 2
• The Crew 2
• GRID
• FM
• Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid
• Mortal Kombat 11
• Farming Simulator 19
• The Elder Scrolls Online
• Darksiders: Genesis
• Trials Rising
• Wolfenstein: The New Order
• Just Dance
• Thumper
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider
• Dragonball Xenoverse 2
• Final Fantasy XV
• RAGE 2
• Samurai Showdown
• Metro Exodus
• Assassin's Creed: Odyssey

Stadia is expected to launch "later this year" across 14 countries

Check below for pricing information:

Stadia Pro: $10 a month

• Three months included in Founder's Edition.
• Part of Founder's Edition
• Resolution: Up to 4K
• Frame rate: 60 FPS
• Sound: 5.1 surround sound
• Buy games whenever you want: Yes
• Additional free games released regularly: Yes, starting with Destiny 2: The Collection
• Stadia Pro-exclusive discounts on select game purchases: Yes
• $9.99 / mo

Stadia Base: FREE

• Coming next year
• Resolution: Up to 1080p
• Frame rate: 60 FPS
• Sound: Stereo
• Buy games whenever you want: Yes
• Additional free games released regularly: No
• Stadia Pro-exclusive discounts on select game purchases: No
• Free

Stadia Founder's Edition $129

• First access to Stadia
• Chromecast Ultra
• Limited Edition Stadia controller
• 3 months of Stadia Pro access + 3 months of friend access
• Full Destiny 2 experience