Google Stadia hasn’t truly been successful the mainstream spotlight since its high-profile motorboat successful 2019. And extracurricular of atrocious quality and mediocre reviews, it chiefly disappeared from astir gaming sites and YouTube channels. But the players who’ve invested hundreds oregon adjacent thousands of hours into Google’s video crippled streaming work don’t look to attraction what others think. To them, Google Stadia is the cleanable solution to a hobby that they consciousness has go excessively expensive, complicated, and restrictive.

For astir of you speechmaking this, Google Stadia is that cloud-based streaming video crippled work Google launched a fewer years agone which whitethorn oregon whitethorn not beryllium astir still. It’s apt not thing you prosecute with beyond speechmaking occasional stories connected Kotaku and different sites astir how poorly things are going for the streaming service. From high-ranking execs bailing to reports of Google wholly ditching the platform, Stadia hasn’t had a large fewer years successful the press, and immoderate gamers look to outright hatred it.

But aft three unsmooth years, lawsuits, and studio closures, Stadia is inactive live and kicking, inactive getting caller features and updates. One would presume that means immoderate radical are inactive paying for, and using, Google Stadia successful 2022. And possibly your archetypal question mightiness be…why?

The Stadia Super-Fans

Marco, a joined begetter of a 16-month-old lad who lives successful Europe, told maine that each escaped infinitesimal helium has is precious, and modern consoles conscionable don’t enactment for his regular life.

“Whenever I commencement up my PS4 close present I ever person updates,” Marco said. “Even though I usage remainder mode, I sometimes request to hold 15 minutes to play.” While that mightiness not look similar a lot, for Marco it could beryllium astir fractional his escaped clip that night. “The updating is hell,” helium said.

But with Google Stadia, determination are nary updates for games, arsenic that is each handled connected Google’s servers. There are besides nary installations oregon ample downloads. You conscionable deed play and a fewer moments aboriginal the crippled is going and that’s that. And this velocity and deficiency of downtime is simply a cardinal origin for wherefore truthful galore of the players I spoke to support playing Stadia.

“The tech is truthful good,” Deaddog52, a Stadia subordinate with 1800 hours invested into the service, told Kotaku. “[Stadia] starts up speedy and plays great. I often hide I’m not playing connected section hardware.”

But for Deaddog52, it’s not conscionable Stadia’s velocity that has kept him coming backmost to play time aft day. Another large origin is however overmuch cheaper and flexible Stadia is for him and his household compared to consoles. After years of owning and playing aggregate consoles, helium grew bushed of it all.

“When consoles travel retired they are costly and hard to get,” said Deaddog52. “Then determination are the disappointing consoles. Even a palmy console lone has astir 5 years earlier it starts collecting dust. Then the retention abstraction issues and predominant downloads started to irritate me, but what truly bothered maine was the large sound my console instrumentality would make.”

Deaddog52 gave up connected gaming for a fewer years, until a person showed him Stadia soon aft its launch. Impressed, helium became excited to play games each implicit again. And portion helium knows that the prime of Stadia isn’t rather arsenic bully arsenic that of a almighty PC oregon caller “next-gen” console, for him the debased terms and easiness of usage much than marque up for it.

“On apical of nary outgo and nary maintenance, I tin play connected immoderate screen,” said Deaddog52. “I volition virtually person 3 streams going astatine the aforesaid clip (my 2 kids and me) and person nary issues. To person that aforesaid luxury [without Stadia] I would person to walk $1500 connected hardware with consoles.”

Deaddog52, similar others I spoke to, has fundamentally not touched a console similar the Nintendo Switch oregon PS4 since joining Stadia. And for some, the thought of going backmost to accepted gaming worries them. Should Stadia beryllium shuttered, immoderate did suggest they mightiness effort different streaming options, similar Game Pass oregon Amazon Luna, portion others said they would reluctantly instrumentality to consoles oregon PC. But immoderate players consciousness excessively connected to the Stadia ecosystem and the state it offers, letting them play anyplace via the net and their telephone oregon tablet.

“To beryllium honest: determination is thing amended for maine than Stadia close now,” said Marco.

Ravenlock, different idiosyncratic who has been a Stadia lawsuit since time one, besides told maine that portion its room isn’t the best, the flexibility streaming offers is hard to beat.

“I tin and bash get my Elder Scrolls Online oregon Destiny 2 dailies done connected immoderate screen, anytime, without worrying astir having immense games installed successful a clump of places,” said Ravenlock. “My full Stadia room is arsenic portable arsenic my phone, my tablet, my Chromecast, immoderate I privation to flip successful my bag”

Google’s History Of Destruction

The elephant successful the country erstwhile talking astir thing Google-related is of people the tech giant’s long past of shutting down oregon different ending apps and services, lone to regenerate them with antithetic apps which it volition also, eventually, unopen down. Yet erstwhile I asked these Stadia super-fans if they were disquieted astir Google pulling the plug connected the streaming service, nary of them seemed acrophobic astatine all. Many held onto the thought that Google seldom shuts down paid services.

“They’ve precise seldom killed projects radical were actively paying for,” said Ravenlock, “And they person plentifulness of announced partnerships and plans going guardant astatine slightest for the adjacent twelvemonth oregon truthful that would marque shutting it down adjacent much awkward and unpleasant for them than it would already be.”

This was a sentiment that astir each Stadia subordinate I spoke to shared: Google won’t unopen down Stadia due to the fact that radical wage for it and it’s popular. To beryllium clear: Google has unopen down fashionable paid services and apps, like Google Play Music, successful the past. Still, I spoke to implicit fractional a twelve radical and each of them were assured that Stadia wasn’t going anywhere, adjacent arsenic Google seems to downplay the service’s future. I got the content immoderate of them were excessively invested successful Stadia to adjacent imagination of a aboriginal without it.

If you’ve ever dived into the comments connected a antagonistic Stadia communicative oregon tweet, you’ve apt encountered immoderate Stadia super-fans who aggressively support the work and its games against thing they comprehend arsenic attacks. And successful my conversations with Stadia users, I encountered immoderate of this. A fewer were disquieted I’d twist their words to acceptable my “agenda,” and others argued that gaming sites and astir gamers are “biased” against Stadia.

“I deliberation a batch of [the press] was ever biased and antagonistic astir Stadia since the start,” said Marco. “Nobody ever truly tried to explicate what Stadia is. Instead, [they] conscionable focused connected the things that went wrong. But erstwhile things are good, cipher is there. PlayStation launches 2 games successful PS Plus and they constitute astir it. Stadia launches 7 games successful Pro and not adjacent 1 [outlet] writes astir it.”

Others pointed retired that sites similar IGN and fashionable YouTubers ne'er notation Stadia erstwhile listing what platforms games are coming retired on, oregon instrumentality the clip to reappraisal Stadia versions of games upon their release. They reason this is an illustration of however the property and influencers person tried to overgarment Stadia successful a atrocious light. (The world is that astir sites, including Kotaku, don’t person the unit and resources needed to make ongoing, dedicated sum of a comparatively niche level similar Stadia.)

Perfect For Them

However, the biggest takeaway from my clip speaking to each these assorted Google Stadia users wasn’t that they’re aggravated oregon bitter. It wasn’t that they felt ignored oregon treated poorly. I observed small doom oregon gloom astir the service’s future, oregon what its streaming exemplary mightiness mean for integer ownership moving forward. Instead, astir were conscionable blessed the work was inactive astir and adjacent existed successful the archetypal place, arsenic it felt similar the cleanable mode for them to play games successful 2022.

They didn’t privation to get into debates astir the viability of streaming oregon astir which level was better. No, they conscionable wanted to speech astir each the games they were playing. It’s casual to presume that the lone radical near playing Stadia are weirdos oregon radical who don’t play much, but it’s not hard to mean players who’ve clocked thousands of hours into the service.

At this point, they cognize that Google’s video crippled streaming level isn’t going to alteration the world. But they don’t care. As agelong arsenic they get to support playing each their favourite games connected immoderate internet-connected instrumentality without downloads oregon different downtime, they’re blessed to support investing successful Stadia.

“I’m inactive playing due to the fact that I similar the service,” said Ravenlock. “Not due to the fact that I’m expecting it to conquer the world.”