A full year since it launched, Google Stadia finally has its first publicly-available free-to-play game, and it’s a good one: Destiny 2.
This is the same free-to-play version of Destiny 2 that’s been available on other platforms since June 2019—including Stadia for paid subscribers—but now you can play it on Stadia without spending a dime. That’s a pretty big deal; before now you’d have had to either pay for access to Stadia’s subscription library or buy a full-priced game through the service. Early adopters also had to buy a Stadia-supported device and a controller, which was pretty expensive. Luckily, Stadia support has expanded to Chromecast Ultra, PCs, and many Android phones and Chromebooks, and it works with several third-party controllers. There’s even a touch-control workaround for mobile users.
The free-to-play version of Destiny 2 only includes the base content from the original Destiny 2—and none of its DLC expansions. If you want those, you’ll have to buy Destiny 2: The Collection and the recent Beyond Light expansion. Also, The stadia version does not support cross-platform play, and free users are restricted to 1080p mode. Ten dollar-per-month members can play in 4K mode, though your actual gameplay resolution will depend on your internet quality.
It’s worth nothing that Microsoft’s cloud streaming service and Nvidia’s GeForce Now also let you play Destiny 2 on the go, but Microsoft’s app requires a $15 monthly Game Pass membership and GeForce is $5 per month (or you can play for free with 1-hour sessions limits). Playing the game on Stadia, however, is free with unrestricted play time.
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If you’re curious about Destiny 2 and don’t have gaming hardware powerful enough to play it natively, streaming it for free through Stadia is a great way to try the game. This is also the perfect opportunity for anyone on the fence about Stadia or cloud streaming to try the service out with zero financial commitment. Just head over to Stadia’s homepage and create a new account to get started.
