I will likely renew my Pro subscription. While I remain a hardware enthusiast there are some games that I want to play that aren't available for my platform (Desktop Linux) that are available for Stadia.

Take Metro Exodus for example. We have yet to see if we'll get a Linux binary release on Steam next Saturday. I've previously praised 4A games for releasing the previous Metro games and their remasters on Linux but now it remains to be seen if Exodus will follow suit. I wonder what effect Epic's meddling had on those chances. Either way, I'm able to avoid the controversy and enjoy the game on Stadia (after Cranking the controller sensitivity).

Another example is Red Dead Redemption II. If I wanted to play this game in 2020 my options are: PS4/Xbox/Windows and Stadia. I don't own a console and I don't use Windows. Dual booting Windows for a game is not optimal and it's clear Rockstar doesn't care about desktop Linux judging by the proton reports. Hypothetically I could use another service like Geforce Now (RDR2 isn't on GFN) but those services don't appeal to me at all. I don't use Windows at home or work for a reason. Why would I want to rent a Windows instance in the cloud? That's aside for my views of Nvidia and their support of Open Source.

It feels like Google took Valve's initial effort of the Steam Machine and foundational mesa/vulkan work and narrowed its scope to a single AMD SKU and paired it with with some interesting technology...and Google's advertising money.

I imagine the Witcher 3 would have released for Stadia had it been around at the time, see Cyberpunk 2077. Desktop Linux isn't an attractive target, Google's shiny new thing is. We've already seen AAA titles release for Stadia that aren't available via steam. (NBA2K20, Metro Exodus, Destiny 2, Red Dead Redemption, Trials Rising, Thumper, Monster Motocross, Ghost Recon, Attack on Titan 2, Rage 2, Borderlands 3, Assassins Creed Odyssey, Dragon Ball Z, Darksiders Genesis, Final Fantasy, Football Manager (Developers have stated desktop Linux isn't attractive/worth it), Just Dance, Mortal Combat, Wolfenstein: Young blood ).

I wish Valve would advertise the hell out of the Steam Linux runtime and perhaps incentivize developers to bring their Stadia releases to Steam, should Google allow it. I'd croak if Google/Valve announced a steam native/proton supported partnership for certain games. Either way, Steam remains my platform of choice but I cannot help but feel some solace in supporting a platform (Stadia) that also helps move Linux gaming forward, further proving its viability as a gaming platform. Stadia works. Game Streaming Works. Linux Gaming Works.

Native Linux Release > Supported Proton Release > Stadia > Unsupported/Non-legal tweaks

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As for my experiences with Stadia it's been a dream. I'm not able to enjoy 4K HDR gaming on my desktop pc in the other room running Linux but yet I'm able to in my bedroom via just a Chromecast ultra and a controller. Magic.

I'll gladly continue to accept the games Google gives away and only buy games that Interest me that I cannot play on another platform.

Games I've purchased on Stadia:

Red Dead Redemption 2
Trials Rising (Good Stupid Fun)

That being said I'm not blind to the shortcomings. It's a game by game basis but crossplay makes or breaks a game to me. I'd love to play borderlands 3 with my brother but that's currently not possible as his internet isn't strong enough for Stadia and cross play isn't supported in that game. Come on gearbox.

Edit: What will be especially disheartening is seeing previously supported Linux titles come "back" to Stadia. Rust and Rocket League come to mind as two possibilities.

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