Best answer: The Stadia Founder's Edition bundle is $129 and includes all you need to get started gaming on Stadia. You get a limited-edition Night Blue Stadia Controller, a Chromecast Ultra, and three months of Stadia Pro for free along with a three-month buddy pass for a friend. You also get the opportunity to lock in your Stadia username early and access to the first free title released with the Stadia Pro subscription, Destiny 2: The Collection.
- Everything you need: Stadia Founder's Edition ($129 at Google Store)
What do we know about Google Stadia?
Google finally unveiled concrete details surrounding its forthcoming video game streaming service, Stadia, including previews of some of the games that will be available at launch and more details on how Stadia subscriptions will work when the service launches in November.
The free version, Stadia Base, lets you play purchased games at up to 1080p and 60FPS, while the Stadia Pro subscription is $10 a month and lets you stream games bought on Stadia at 4K 60FPS across all devices — and will also grant subscribers free access to an expected growing list of titles.
If the Stadia Pro subscription is what you're after, Google is offering a Founder's Edition bundle that offers a great deal on the base equipment you need to get started.
What's included in the Founder's Edition Bundle?
The Stadia Founder's Edition bundle is being sold for $129 and includes all you need to get started gaming on Stadia. The bundle includes a limited-edition Night Blue Stadia Controller, a Chromecast Ultra, a three-month Stadia subscription along with a three-month buddy pass for a friend and an option to add an additional controller to your order for an extra $69. You also get the early opportunity to lock in your Stadia username and access to the first free title released with the Stadia Pro subscription, Destiny 2: The Collection.
Do you need the Founder's Edition to enjoy a Stadia Pro subscription?
Stadia is designed to work with most USB or Bluetooth-enabled controllers and will be available to play on most any computers with the Chrome browser installed or on a Pixel 3 or 3a device at launch. If you own one of the latest Pixel phones, have a favored Bluetooth controller in your collect, and are pretty confident that your home set up is more than good enough to handle Stadia already, the Founder's Edition Bundle might not sound all that enticing.
However, when you consider that buying a Stadia controller and Chromecast Ultra separately would end up costing about the same as the bundle itself it's really a no-brainer. You'd also be missing out on getting your first three months of subscription costs covered along with the buddy pass you can give to a friend, and won't get early access to locking down your preferred username.
From that perspective, the Founder's Edition bundle is a great deal especially if you don't already own a Chromecast Ultra or want a dedicated controller to use with Stadia.
What about availability?
The Stadia Founder's Edition bundle will be available in 14 countries:
- Belgium
- Finland
- Canada
- Denmark
- France
- Germany
- Ireland
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Spain
- Sweden
- United Kingdom
- USA (excluding Hawaii and Guam)
Where can I pre-order the Founder's Edition bundle?
The Stadia Founder's Edition bundle is exclusively available through the Google Store, which is also the only place to buy extra Stadia controllers at launch.
Be among the first to play Stadia.
The Stadia Founder's Edition is available for pre-order now and is necessary to be among the first to access the service. Not only do you gain early access in November, but you also get a Chromecast Ultra, Stadia Controller, and three free months of Stadia Pro for you and a friend.
