Google Stadia store hints at demos, early access and cross-play

Google’s web-based Google Stadia store may be another undercooked aspect of Google’s video game streaming service as it stands, but that is set to improve!

Discovered by website NeoWin, the streaming service’s website is due for an influx of new features to make gaming on the service more tolerable. By looking at the website’s code, you can see a host of new features set to come to the service.

The current Stadia store only has a few different lists to split up the less-than-30 video games available on the storefront. Through toying with the URL to enter different genres, publishers, developers, popularity and more, you can see that Google has a lot more planned than the service’s barebones interpretation.

NeoWin’s findings also discovered mentions of other features that the Google Stadia store doesn’t currently support. General launch features like video game pre-orders, early access games, game demos, gifting and wishlists are all found but inactive.

The article also makes it clear that Google’s YouTube integration will also be tied to game sales. With the service having an inactive ‘Popular on YouTube’ category, Stadia is trying to bridge Google’s new platforms, just like they did with Google+.

Through this category, Stadia customers will be able to jump right into the same games YouTubers are playing. Take Minecraft as an example, the most popular YouTube video game in 2019, since YouTubers are playing Minecraft, Google would push Minecraft towards its users. Although, this all depends on whether popular games make their way over to Stadia. (Sorry, Ghost Recon Breakpoint!)

Stadia also lists a Cross-Platform feature, although the service doesn’t currently offer any cross-platform games.

You can find a list of all the new Stadia categories below:

• Most Played
• Top Selling
• Editors Choice
• Coming Soon
• Pre-Orders
• Recently Updated
• New Add-Ons
• Early Access
• Great on Mobile
• On Sale
• Great Offers
• Game of the Year Winners
• Beautiful Games
• Popular on YouTube
• Most Wanted
• Most Gifted
• Top Rated
• New Releases
• Best 4K Games
• Best Cross-Platform
• Best HDR Games
• Best Multiplayer Games
• Best of Stadia
• Best with Stadia Pro
• Big Deals
• Collection
• Compilation
• Demos
• Discover More Games
• Expansions
• Featured Deals
• Leaving Stadia Pro Soon
• More to Discover
• New & Trending
• New This Month
• New This Week
• New to Stadia
• Publisher Spotlight
• Stadia Exclusives
• Stadia Favourites
• Stadia Pro Deals
• Trending
• Trials