Chromebooks now launch with Stadia pre-installed

Chromebooks have become increasingly popular over the past several months as people adopt remote learning and work from home environments. While these devices are great for getting work done, they’re also perfect for playing Stadia, Google’s video game streaming service.

Speaking of which, the Made By Google Twitter account announced that new Chromebooks launch with Stadia pre-installed.

Did you know Chromebooks now come with @GoogleStadia already installed? Start playing games without waiting for downloads or updates. Click the Stadia icon in your app menu to get started. pic.twitter.com/iV1Mb32pYP

— Made By Google (@madebygoogle) February 9, 2021

“Start playing games without waiting for downloads or updates,” the Made By Google account tweeted. “Click the Stadia icon in your app menu to get started.”

To be clear, the Progressive Web App (PWA) will be pre-installed, not the Android app from Google Play. Since PWAs run in Chrome, which is already pre-installed, that effectively means there’s now just a Stadia web shortcut on new Chromebooks.

Regardless, this is still important for discoverability. Most users rely on downloading apps from the app store, and it’s not recommended to use the Android version of Stadia on Chrome OS. Many users don’t know how to install PWAs, so having it pre-installed helps. Also, the fact that it’s pre-installed in the first place means more people will be aware of it, especially among demographics where Chromebooks are popular, such as children and young adults.

Google is still offering 3 months of free Stadia Pro for new Chromebook purchases, too. So, if you recently picked up a Chromebook for school or work (or pleasure), you can start using Stadia right out of the box. The service is a great way to experience big titles like Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla and Cyberpunk 2077.

Now, if only Stadia support would come to the Chromecast with Google TV. When the device launched last year, support for the video game streaming service was conspicuously absent from the dongle. At the time, Google said that the Chromecast with Google TV will support Stadia in the first half of 2021. We’re in the first half of 2021, but still no support is in sight.

For now, you can boot up Stadia on your new Chromebook. But don’t game for too long, because there’s probably work to be done.

The post Chromebooks now launch with Stadia pre-installed appeared first on xda-developers.

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