You’ve just beaten a challenging level that you designed in HITMAN 3, and want to share that experience with others - with State Share, a new Stadia feature launching across the entire HITMAN - World of Assassination trilogy on January 20, you can! State Share is an exciting feature that’s only possible with Stadia, letting you create unique game states to share with friends.
State Share turns a normal image or video capture into a portal to a unique game experience.
By embedding a game state within each capture, sharing gameplay for others to watch is transformed into a chance to try a playable slice of the game yourself. Each game state is defined by specific gameplay elements like player loadout, objectives, and difficulty, and trying each one is as easy as clicking a link.
Ahead of the launch of State Share within the HITMAN trilogy on January 20, we chatted with Stadia Product Manager Catherine Hsiao about what the feature is capable of and how it’s designed to work specifically in the HITMAN - World of Assassination trilogy from IO Interactive.
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Hi there, Catherine! Can you tell our readers more about yourself and what State Share is?
I’m Catherine Hsiao, a Product Manager here at Stadia. I’ve been working hard with other engineers to bring State Share to life, starting with the HITMAN - World of Assassination trilogy. State Share is a feature that’s exclusive to Stadia which aims to change how we share our favorite gaming experiences with others.
State Share allows players to capture a unique game state - a playable slice of the game itself - to share with friends within a link to the gameplay screenshot or video clip. Every game that supports State Share will feature game states with different gameplay elements included, such as the player’s current items, difficulty level, objectives, and more. So it’s really as easy as saving a capture on Stadia and sharing the link with friends, viewers, or followers so they can click to launch the game and play for themselves.
How does State Share work specifically in HITMAN 3?
In HITMAN 3, as well as in the first two games in the HITMAN - World of Assassination trilogy, you’ll be able to use State Share to save a game state within any campaign or custom mission, during the missions themselves or at the mission complete screen. IO Interactive has designed its use of State Share to allow all saved game states to include the following gameplay elements:
The incredible part of playing HITMAN 3 on Stadia is that with State Share, you’ll be able to play with weapons and items that you haven’t unlocked yet. Even if you haven’t unlocked certain weapons or items in HITMAN 3, you’ll be able to experience them with State Share at the click of a link, without affecting your own progression in-game.
How do I know which captures include game states that I can share?
State Share ensures that captures which include game states will have a unique icon displayed in the top right of the image, as demonstrated below. Just navigate to your Home screen, scroll down to the Captures & game states section, and you’ll be able to see all of the game states that you can share with friends using a link.
What are some of the most interesting uses of State Share for players?
State Share opens a world of possibilities for players who want to share what they’re playing with others, literally. More competitive players can use State Share to challenge others to beat their scores on a given level with specific items.
State Share also offers a creative way for YouTube creators to interact with their community. Creators can live stream a game and share a link to their game state for viewers to try for themselves, or even try game states shared by their viewers live on stream.
How will State Share work in other games?
State Share will be used differently in each game that supports it, so the gameplay elements included in each game state and the overall player experience will vary. Stadia is providing the overall structure within State Share for our partners to decide what works best for their game.
For example, a game state might take players to the beginning of a level with the custom character, inventory, and health that you originally experienced. Other game states might teleport you right to the moment when you saved the capture. Or, they might start a new game with some of the original player's accomplishments shown on the map.
What’s the future of State Share? Will we see this in more games in 2021?
State Share will continue to evolve following its launch within the HITMAN - World of Assassination trilogy on January 20, with support coming to more games on Stadia in 2021 and beyond.
In fact, with both HITMAN 1 and HITMAN 2 available to claim for free within Stadia Pro, trying State Share for yourself is as easy as creating a Stadia account and claiming your free one month trial of Stadia Pro before creating and sharing your own game states.
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More games are coming to Stadia in 2021, including Far Cry 6, HUMANKIND, Riders Republic, Hello Engineer, and more. For a full list of games available now on the Stadia store, visit Stadia.com.
Keep your eyes on Stadia’s Twitter and Facebook for more news on upcoming games and other up-to-the-second announcements.
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