In December 2020, Google released an iOS browser-based progressive web application for Stadia, enabling gameplay in the Safari browser.

While the base service was free and allowed users to stream at resolutions up to 1080p, a Stadia Pro monthly subscription allowed for a maximum resolution of 4K, 5.1 surround sound, HDR, and offered a growing collection of free games that—once claimed—remained in the user's library whenever they had an active subscription.

Stadia initially received a mixed reception from reviewers, with most criticism directed at its limited library of games and lack of promised features.

Google refunded those that bought the hardware, and provided a software update to the Stadia controller to enable Bluetooth connectivity for use on computers, phones, tablets, and game consoles.

Stadia was a cloud gaming service,[1] in which it requires an Internet connection and a device running either Chromium or a dedicated application.

[3] Google was also exploring further ways to reduce latency, involving the prediction of user input through various means, so that any apparent network lag between controller and game response was minimized.

Never intended for public release, it featured rudimentary graphics and menus, and plays a single chiptune-style audio track on loop.

[24][25] The service employed solid-state drive storage, and 16 GB of RAM (supporting up to 484 GB/s bandwidth) shared between the GPU and the CPU.

Google released a web-based tool on January 17, 2023, to enable Bluetooth on the controller, allowing it to be used with computers and other devices just before and after the shutdown of Stadia.

[37][38] "This [Stadia] starts with our platform foundations of Linux and Vulkan and shows in our selection of GPUs that have open-source drivers and tools.

"[37] A progressive web application-based version of Stadia for iOS devices was announced by Google in November 2020 and released on December 16, 2020.

It ran in Chrome or Safari web browsers, to avoid restrictions Apple had in place for apps that directly stream libraries of games.

[42] Project Stream's main differentiator from past services, such as OnLive, GeForce Now, and PlayStation Now, was its ability to run in any desktop Chrome browser, so no additional software needed to be installed.

[45] Google announced the service in October 2018[46] and, soon after, opened invitations to beta testers with access to Assassin's Creed Odyssey.

In December 2019, the Stadia Games and Entertainment division acquired Typhoon Studios to develop additional content for the platform.

[54] Sean Hollister of The Verge wondered if the shutdown were provoked by poor sales of Cyberpunk 2077 on Stadia, in a "make-or-break moment for the service",[55] while Kotaku writers reported that Google's decision to close the studios followed after Microsoft announced their intended acquisition of ZeniMax Media for Xbox Game Studios in September 2020.

Further, under Harrison's leadership, despite millions of dollars spent to get major titles on the service, like Red Dead Redemption 2, and to recruit Jade Raymond to develop exclusive content, Stadia had missed target user counts and revenues by a significant amount, contributing to Google's decision to close down its studios.

These included a sequel to Typhoon Studios's Journey to the Savage Planet, planned projects led by Hideo Kojima and Yu Suzuki, and a large multiplayer title led by Francois Pelland, a former Assassin's Creed developer, and left in limbo a near-finalized game from Harmonix which Harmonix says may still be released.

After that, their cut would return to their standard rate, believed to have been near the industry-wide 30% average, under what Google called "competitive revenue share terms".

[66] The former members of Typhoon Games were able to secure funding, including some from Tencent, to launch a new studio Raccoon Logic, and through negotiations with Google retained the rights to Journey to the Savage Planet and its in-progress sequel.

[70] Another early example was Capcom's use of the Stadia technology to offer a free demo of Resident Evil Village in June 2022 through any web browser.

[89] In March 2020, Google sent promotional emails to owners of Chromecast Ultra devices offering three months of Stadia Pro at no cost for redemption.

[98] In December 2020, Stadia expanded to eight new European markets: Austria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Switzerland.

[100] During its beta, the service received generally positive initial impressions from reviewers, who felt that it met, and in some instances exceeded, expectations,[43][46][47] and made for a potentially viable alternative to PC gaming.

[46] Digital Foundry performed a hands-on with Assassin's Creed Odyssey on a Pixelbook on the service in Beta, and found that in the testing environment, latency seemed acceptable, but there was a noticeable visual hit.

[102] Wired Magazine described the image quality as "drab", but admitted to preferring to play Destiny 2 on a Chromebook instead of a larger gaming laptop.

[106] The Guardian gave Stadia three stars out of five, praising the service's technical performance, while criticising its game selection for being too old and only featuring one exclusive.

"[108] S&P Global Market Intelligence reported that: "Stadia met with tepid enthusiasm from analysts and early adopters who criticized the service's slate of launch titles and lack of promoted features".

[109] Dieter Bohn from The Verge said that "I have put in enough hours in enough conditions to say that this is a beta product, and Google should have labeled it as such and launched it differently.

These users were concerned about planned features that were only months away on Google's initial timeline, but had yet to be discussed further, such as 4K streaming resolution support.