Stadia Pro January 2020 Free Games Announced, One Tomb Raider Leaving

It's almost hard to believe that it has been more than a month now since Google's cloud-based game streaming platform launched but in just a few days it will already welcome its second batch of free games. Taking a cue from other subscription services, Stadia offers a rotating roster of games offered for free for Pro subscribers, two every month. As January and the year begins, Stadia also welcomes a Tomb Raider title as an older one leaves the fold.

When Google Stadia first launched, it offered Destiny 2 and Samurai Showdown immediately for free to Stadia Pro subscribers. At that time, of course, those were the only kind of subscribers from the Founders and Premiere Editions. Destiny 2 also became something sort of Stadia's launch title, being its most advertised experience for the service.

Just half a month later, Google announced that Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition and Farming Simulator 19 Platinum Edition would be the first two games added to the rotation. This raised a few eyebrows as the games were part of Stadia's day one titles. Google conceded to the misstep and offered Pro subscribers a refund if they bought the two.

With less than five days left into the year, Stadia is announcing that Rise of the Tomb Raider and Thumper will be the next two games for the Stadia Pro free list. At the same time, however, Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition will no longer be available for free on December 31, 2019. If, however, Pro subscribers already claimed the free title before that date, it's theirs to keep forever.

This system of two free games per month is definitely an attractive feature for the service but the lack of games still bites harder. Hopefully, Google has more good news in that vein in the coming days to keep Stadia from losing steam.