Google Stadia has finally made its way to iOS more than a year after its launch. The company’s mobile web beta for the iPhone and iPad, first announced last month, is launching today. That means any Stadia user on their free tier or their paid Stadia Pro subscription can access their library of Stadia games on Apple devices.
Google, like other competing cloud services, uses mobile Safari due to Apple’s restrictions on cloud gaming apps, meaning platforms like Stadia cannot exist in their current form on the App Store. You can access Stadia through its website on Safari or by creating a home screen icon that turns the service into a progressive web app so that it works almost identically to a native app.
Unlike Nvidia’s GeForce Now or Microsoft’s planned mobile web version of xCloud, Google Stadia has a free tier with no restrictions and now offers two free-to-play games available (Destiny 2 and Super Bomberman R), and more to come. That means anyone with a Gmail account who wants to try Stadia can have a shot at an iPhone or iPad with minimal effort.
That accessibility could be key to Stadia’s future growth. Many of Stadia’s early struggles, and the many failed or otherwise unknown cloud platforms that preceded it, have to do with a mix of technical issues and economic hurdles, roadblocks that mean actually using the service as your primary gaming platform is more. cumbersome and expensive than the benefits. But Stadia is now in a very different place than it was at launch. Not only does the service have a free tier and free-to-play games, but it also has access to high-profile holiday releases such as Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and the one just released Cyberpunk 2077.
The new open-world sci-fi game from CD Projekt Red is plagued with bugs and performance issues that mainly affect players on last-generation game consoles, which is a boon for the Stadia version. Google had to end a promotion for the game that awarded free Stadia controllers and Chromecast Ultra devices to anyone who pre-ordered or made a purchase Cyberpunk 2077 on Stadia for up to a week after release due to overwhelming demand.
Adding iOS support can add to the momentum Stadia is currently experiencing. I have been able to access the beta on The edgeStadia test account from the past week or so in which I tested Cyberpunk 2077 and other games on my iPad Pro and iPhone 11 Pro. It works remarkably well even with the built-in touch controls.
I wouldn’t recommend relying on those touch controls for anything that requires precise input, but it was nice to know that I still have the Destiny 2 interface using my iPhone’s touchscreen to perform simple tasks such as the in-game Tower hub to retrieve bounties or check my character’s inventory.
Rather than touch, you’d be better off using a Stadia controller or one of the supported Bluetooth gamepads like Microsoft’s Xbox One controller or the Sony DualShock 4, and those controllers work seamlessly over mobile Safari with no issues I have so far far have come across.
I’ll say you have to rely on a Wi-Fi connection to play reliably on iOS, unless you happen to own a fairly rare and situational Ethernet to Lightning or USB adapter accessory. That means you won’t always get super smooth visuals or performance.
Still, many of the visual glitches you may experience when using Stadia on a medium Wi-Fi connection on a larger screen are not that noticeable when playing on the iPhone or iPad. In particular, I have found games Cyberpunk 2077 on my iPad Pro to be a pretty consistent and solid experience, more so in some cases than on my PlayStation 5 where I find the game often crashes multiple times during a single gaming session.
Due to Apple’s limitations, Google says you need to do a small workaround to get the Stadia web version on your iOS device’s home screen as a progressive web app, and it took this image to explain it:
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Image: Google
The big caveat at this point is that there aren’t a ton of great games on Stadia that are suitable for mobile players. I don’t see anyone trying their best to boot up the new Assassin’s Creed or Cyberpunk 2077 on an iPhone screen, except to marvel at its novelty. I think the iPad is primarily where Stadia will shine on iOS for the players who have a nice enough screen, a fast enough connection, and a controller to use.
But iOS support opens up a lot of possibilities for Stadia – not just to bring it to more players looking for a more robust mobile gaming solution, but also to promote cloud gaming to developers who are making the kind of games suitable for mobile screens. If Google joins more indie developers and starts supporting more of the less graphics-intensive experiences you see on a Nintendo Switch, for example, that could make Stadia a much more competitive platform.