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Standb
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

Owned games

I bought Red Dead Redemption 2 on steam, if I buy Stadia, will I be able to play this game or do I have to buy it again?

1 Kudo
30 Replies
Jason20910
Community Member

No, you would have to buy for Stadia. No PC game purchases transfer to Stadia.
1 Kudo
Yubal
Community Member

The thing is that if you buy a game in Stadia, you can play it on PC or TV, but you need it purchased on the Stadia store, you cant import a game from outside.

0 Kudos
LordVivec
Founder
Founder

This question comes up a lot, and I don't understand why.

 

I am a console gamer, that is what I have always been so maybe it is a PC thing.

 

Can someone help me understand why this is such a prevalent misunderstanding?  I am being genuine, I am curious as to why this is asked so often.  Are you able to transfer Steam games to Epic or Epic games to Steam?  What is the reason someone would think you could transfer game ownership between systems?

2 Kudos
Jason20910
Community Member

I think part of the reason is that these are similar to PC versions of games and other services like Geforce Now allow you to play games you already own through services like Steam. And if that game has Steam cloud sync you can even move from local PC play to Geforce Now play with the same save files and only buy the game once. But, Stadia performs much better than Geforce Now for me at least. So, I can mostly overlook the downsides of not being tied to PC games I own. I am not sure I would buy a game on Stadia that I already own on PC though.
3 Kudos
calmrelax
Community Member

weavernator,


I've tried 3 cloud gaming services and all of them allowed to play the games I already own.

The service I currently have an active subscription with doesn't have any store or game library. You can just install and play ANY game you want. From Steam, Epic, Rockstar, whatever.

I'm literally just signed up to give it a try and realized Stadia generously allows me to play some of the games I have if I buy them again, quite possible, for a higher price. And I wasn't told about that upfront.

If you believe that is normal, I'm glad for you, you have the whole beautiful world to explore. For me this service is pointless. If it wasn't a trial offer, I'd call it a scam.

15 Kudos
lutape
Community Member

Hi..

@calmrelax 
Sorry I have to ask this... Which are the names of your cloud gaming services... Im curious... Because after checking out I figure out that... there are no good cloud gaming services out there yet... not as you describe...

There are limitation on each of them... like no being able to play your own games on epic, just steam, or other limitations...

 

Can you tell as, as expert of this... what service you are using?? Maybe the scammer are you...

 

Cheers.

0 Kudos
Icosphere
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

@lutape The cloud service he is talking about begins with “S” and for that, there is a price to pay and a lead time to get it. It’s potential use is over and above to what is on offer here.

0 Kudos
404NotaFound
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

Big brain people,

Geforce Now can transfer steam games, that’s why I’m just play with that, and because if they are both online game streaming platforms, people expect them to do the same thing. For example, it seems that stadia bought rights to put pubg on their platform, but GeForce Now didn’t. That’s not cool, like, I’m not buying the same game twice, that’s just not a good deal. They are both great game steaming platforms, but because of GeForce can transfer epic games, steam, and Ubisoft ownerships (do you see that?  across platform). It’s just more friendly toward pc players and just gamers in general. But of course, GeForce is targeting pc players, and stadia is for console players. 

“I am a console gamer, that is what I have always been so maybe it is a PC thing.” You should try pc platform, if you have tried both, then you would understand more, instead of wandering why pc players are being “stupid.”

2 Kudos
LordVivec
Founder
Founder

Nobody said anyone was stupid.  It was a genuine question.  I can't play an Xbox game on PSN, so why would I think I could play a game I have on PC on Stadia.  Stadia is a streaming platform not a steaming service so I do not get why someone would think this was a realistic option.  If games didn't have to be ported and Stadia was a streaming service, then yes, we would have GFN, not Stadia.  Just like now that Luna is here, you won't be able to play something you bought on a different service there.  Or XCloud, or Nintendo Direct.  Do you understand why I wouldn't understand why someone would think this was an option now?  

 

0 Kudos
Adeon6
Community Member

@LordVivec 

Dear friend, thanks. And I believe your question was genuine.

The difference between platform vs service helps a lot.

For pc gamers - If you open something through your PC - it is... ''on your pc''. Chrome? On your pc. Epic? On your pc.

As per epic vs ubisoft vs steam - yes, us pc gamers are sti wrapping our heads around THAT duality :grinning_face_with_big_eyes: let alone something like stadia - which has ''streaming'' in it's name.

Having now explained it's a PLATFORM - it even makes more sense that epic vs steam.

 

Thank you! Hope I helped you understand the confusion of us pc gamers :grinning_face_with_big_eyes:

Cheers.

0 Kudos
Mikessnow
Community Member

People ask because they don't want to use stadia for games, they want to use steam but stadia offers cross platform for some games. The real question is why is cross platform only exclusive  to stadia? They're trying to use exclusivity for a reason for people to change. Epic does free games and Xbox game pass doubles their price as ways to encourage people to move from steam.

 

I personally want to play farming simulator 19 with a friend who plays xbox but I have to use stadia which I'm not going to do because I like all my games in one place ie steam even though i have games on epic from the games they give away and I have bought some because of the sale vouchers they give also.

Epic actually encourages people through free games and discount coupons, Stadia uses exclusivity and Xbox game pass doubles their price.

0 Kudos
ggrptr
Community Member

Because owning a game, and using the stadia infrastructure to play could mean independent things. I can accept that not the way it works, but the question isn't so meaningless.

0 Kudos
Matt1
Founder
Founder

@calmrelax are you not describing a service where you buy a game on another platform then in addition subscribe to a service which allows you to stream them from that platform? I.e. you need to buy the hardware, the game and the streaming service...? If that works for you that is great. Personally I like the stadia model where all I need to do is buy a game and I can access anywhere.

1 Kudo
calmrelax
Community Member

@Matt1

I pay a very reasonable subscription fee and that's it.

I can use a desktop, mobile device, smart TV, TV stick. Specs don't matter at all. I mean, 20yo device wouldn't work, 15yo - might work, 10yo - perfect.

I'm not a big gamer. It is possible that Stadia offers something special that I'm not aware of but for now I'm genuinely don't understand what's the point of it.

0 Kudos
Matt1
Founder
Founder

@calmrelax I think you’re missing my point here. You have to buy a game on one platform (assume PC from what you’ve said) and at that point it is restricted to your local desktop. You then have to buy an additional streaming service to access from that platform (desktop) on all other media (e.g. mobile). 

With Stadia you just buy the game and you can play wherever (Desktop, TV, Mobile, tablet) and there is no extra cost apart from the game. If you choose you can also subscribe to Pro to have access to extra games and features...but you don’t have to subscribe if you don’t want these and you will still have the flexibility described above.

So I get your point that you already have games that you don’t want to buy again, but Stadia is another platform...a cloud based platform yes but not a streaming service. If you want to play a game you have on PC on Xbox you have to buy it again, so no different if you want to play on Stadia.

But in the end, you should choose whatever suits you and your circumstances best.

2 Kudos
calmrelax
Community Member

@Matt1


> I think you’re missing my point here. You have to buy a game on one platform (assume PC from what you’ve said)
> and at that point it is restricted to your local desktop. You then have to buy an additional streaming service to access
> from that platform (desktop) on all other media (e.g. mobile).

Nope. I don't stream anything from my PC. I don't even need a PC.

The service allows me to play any PC game whether I have a PC or not.
Well, technically a can also play console games than can be run on PC using services like Xbox Live.

> If you want to play a game you have on PC on Xbox you have to buy it again, so no different if you want to play on Stadia.
You continue to repeat this wired argument. Why do you even compare Stadia with moving from PC to Xbox instead of comparing it with other cloud services?

Service I currently use:

  • I can run any of the thousands and thousands of PC titles including those that available for free.
  • I don't need to have a PC.
  • I don't need to buy any hardware. Literally any computer I already have (PC/Mac/Ubuntu) or can be found on a junkyard, mobile Android, or Fire OS device, and most of the smart TVs work just fine. 
  • I don't need to buy PC games I'm already own.
  • I'm who decides where I get the games. I can save by shopping around.
  • The service costs me almost nothing. If I would save this amount of money every month, it would take me several years to buy a mid-range GPU or gaming console.
  • I can unsubscribe and run my games on another cloud service or PC. 

Stadia:

  • You are limited to a couple of dozens of game titles.
  • You pay for PC games you already own.
  • You are limited to one game vendor and one price.
  • Games you bought in Stadia store can be run on Stadia only. You unsubscribe, you can't run these games. 

I own several Google devices and have active paid subscriptions with 3 Google services. I know Google can do better than Stadia.

6 Kudos
DCSabers
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

This guy gets it. 

1 Kudo
RiasValtin
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

I think i can explain why it has the potencial to be better than geforce now. Its quite easy.

Its a whole different system, meaning the games will be optimized for stadia. It a version of the game made for being streamed. While geforce now not so much. Its not a pc version, its stadia.

And we are seeing that now with the cyberpunk 2077 release, pc broken, ps4 broken, ps5 funcional but cant reach 60.

Stadia is doing pretty well, because it was optimized for streaming.

 

I think, ita makes sense to me but im not an expert 

0 Kudos
Matt1
Founder
Founder

@calmrelax sounds a bit too good to be true, and hard to understand what’s being compared if you don’t give the details, so do you care to mention which service you are talking about?

Like I said, it there is a service that works better for you then you should use it and come back to Stadia if/when it meets your needs.

2 Kudos
calmrelax
Community Member

@Matt1

I don't think it is fair to promote other cloud gaming services on Stadia community forum. That is why I did not specify the service I currently use. However, there are only a handful of cloud gaming services currently available, so it is easy to find out which service I'm talking about.

Also, I forgot to mention one downside of it. It could take from several days to 2 weeks to get your account activated.

0 Kudos
Icosphere
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

@calmrelax I know the service you’re talking about. How reliable is it?

1 Kudo
TotallyNotJohn
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

what is the service? I wanna try it out

0 Kudos
Matt1
Founder
Founder

It’s probably worth adding on your question of why do I compare it to PC and Xbox and not other streaming services... it’s because Stadia is a platform like PC and Xbox, it is only how you receive the service that is different. So if you want to port a game that is already launched on another platform to Stadia you need the developer to invest time and money to create a Stadia version of the game - it’s not the case that you can just open access because Stadia is not a streaming service.

As far as I am aware, Streaming services available today are simply an interfacing service (e.g. Steam, which is essentially just a remote PC streaming to your phone etc.). This means they can just play existing games without the need for developer modification of the game first.

personally I like the power and potential of Stadia to be a one place for everything platform. But others will prefer other services - each to their own...

1 Kudo
Icosphere
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

@Matt1 Stadia is simply a games streaming service just like any other game streaming service except that it doesn’t use third-party libraries such as Steam/EpicGames etc for your games, instead, Stadia makes money by selling you the rights/permission to use a game on their platform. So you are basically tied to this platform just like having a digital-based gaming console but without the hardware. However, the problem I see with Stadia is limited game availability, pricing of games are high (same as any other online proprietary platform), even their Pro subscription is too limited. To me, other platforms offer better value. I will review after my three-months trial of Stadia Pro, hopefully things will change for the better but Pro doesn’t offer much value atm.

0 Kudos
LordVivec
Founder
Founder

I disagree with part of this statement.  It does use it's own library, but games have to be ported to Stadia, and Stadia has specific features available to the games in that library. So saying it just don't use a 3rd party library is a bit simplistic I think.  The design is to mirror more what you get with a console, and console games are not able to be used on other consoles for a variety of reasons. 

The rest I agree with though.

0 Kudos
mikejstan
Community Member

This is stupid. It's exactly why I won't be using Stadia. If this was supported via serial key them I would use it in a heart beat. Such a shame.

0 Kudos
Michele
Founder
Founder

This is neither stupid nor new. If you own RDR2 for PC you can't download it for free on your PS4.

Same applies to Stadia. 

2 Kudos
ddalex
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

But you can do that on Geforce Now, so the competition already tackled this problem....

2 Kudos
GTHQ
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

No, different platform.

0 Kudos