Stadia 4K Launched In Chrome With Screenshot/clip Library For Desktop
Stadia just got a big boost for web browsers – just so long as you're using Chrome, of course. This week the streaming video game platform Stadia was boosted to 4K in web browsers, and the rest of the necessary graphics power and hardware. Those requirements include – for starters – a proper internet connection speed.
To play in 4K resolution, users will need to have an active Stadia Pro subscription and a network speed of 35 Mbps or greater, so said the latest update to a Stadia Answer guide this week. Other requirements included a 4K TV with Chromecast Ultra, or a Windows computer or Chromebook with VP9 hardware decoding and a 4K monitor.
If you do not know for sure if your computer supports VP9 hardware decoding – there's a simple check. Open your Google Chrome web browser and type in chrome://gpu and tap Enter. Scroll down to "Video Acceleration Information". There'll be a list there with a bunch of "Decode x" business. If you have items there like "Decode vp9 profile0", your device has vp9 hardware decoding.
A new update also added Captures to the web console for Stadia. If you're logged in to Stadia at Stadia.com in a Chrome web browser on your desktop machine, scroll down below your games, and you'll find "CAPTURES". You'll find however many clips you've already captured there, with (500 max), and a note about "Unlimited screenshots."
On April 1, 2020, there'll be a few new games available for claiming (for "free") for Stadia Pro users. Those include the Serious Sam Collection, Spitlings, and Stacks On Stacks (On Stacks). If you're a Stadia Pro user and you've not done so already, you'll want to "claim" the following games as soon as possible:
- Destiny 2
- GRID
- GYLT
- Metro Exodus
- SteamWorld Dig 2
- SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech
- Thumper
The games Metro Exodus and Thumper will be leaving the free claim collection on March 31, 2020. If you claim them now, they remain available to you to play. If you do not claim the games before March 31, they'll still be on Stadia, but you'll need to pay for them (aka buy them) to play.