In brief: Google has a new offer for those still on the fence about trying its Stadia cloud-gaming service. Starting today, users can try Stadia Pro for 30 minutes with no commitment whatsoever. What does this mean?
With Stadia Pro’s current 30-day trial, customers must first provide their payment information which starts a subscription. Users must then remember to cancel it before the month is up. With the commitment-free offer, customers can play for half an hour without providing a credit card. 9to5Google notes that when the trial is over, Stadia prompts them to enter payment details if they wish to continue, or they can just walk away with no further action.
Thirty minutes is not a whole lot of time to try the platform. Heck, I’ve spent more than that just creating a character in an RPG. However, it is enough time to see how well the service performs. This is important since the game streaming experience is largely dictated by one’s internet connection’s stability and speed. Players can at least find out if their ISP is up to snuff before signing on for 30 days.
The no-commitment trial also seems to signal that Google does not feel Stadia’s adoption rate is where it would like it. The service is just over one-year-old, and Google has not released subscription numbers. However, judging by the number of promotions it has continuously run, it’s clear that adoption has been slow. A 30-minute trial might encourage enough players to give the platform a chance, which in turn should lead to some conversions.
To start the trial, you have to be a new subscriber, meaning you can’t have used your Google account to sign up for the service in the past. After the setup process, 9to5Google notes that the 30-minute offer will automatically appear, and you can start Stadia with a single click without entering your payment details.
However, when we tried it, we were presented with the 30-day trial only (image above). Clicking that took us to the payment authorization screen. TechSpot spoke to Google regarding not being able to take advantage of the 30-minute offer. A representative was unable to activate it, and added that the promotion has not been officially announced. The spokesperson declined to comment further on the matter. Until it goes official, your results on claiming the trail may vary.