S’more Stadia Streams
Ubisoft, one of the major benefactors known to be working on porting existing games to Google’s cloud-based gaming platform Google Stadia, has announced a trifecta of ports coming to the platform. As of this week, middling Assassin’s Creed entries of the early PS4 era Origins, Syndicate, and Unity are making their way to the game streaming service to mixed reactions from diehard fans and professionals alike.
The performance of previous Ubisoft ports for Stadia have received plenty of criticism in the past. Anecdotally, they’ve been referred to as the worst running versions available. Google’s selling point for Stadia is its ability to stream any title at 4k 60fps. This has led fans to badmouth the burgeoning platform for not living up to its word, but who’s really to blame?
Executive Decisions
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot is on record saying, in regard to Stadia ports, “The extra cost . . . to make sure the games work well on Stadia is not that high,” which, on its face, seems more like a confession than a brag. Stadia’s cloud-based platform is reported to be accessible through multiple forms of hardware. This includes the Chrome browser, Chrome OS tablets, Chromecast TVs, and any Android device through the Stadia mobile app. Porting Triple-A titles like AC: Origins, Syndicate, and Unity into so many permutations at a promised 4k 60fps is no mean feat, meaning it’s more than likely that Stadia fanboys can expect many cut corners and frustrating performance for these entries in Ubisoft’s flagship series.
Even with these grains of salt, we’re excited to finally see these classic period adventures make their way to mobile. Assassin’s Creed is a tentpole series in the world of gaming. As such, it’s comforting to know those rascally Templars are now only a few taps away.
Streaming Service Shuffle
Ubisoft announced these titles alongside their newly-rebranded subscription service, Ubisoft+, now available on the Stadia platform. Obviously, the intention is to bypass the huge retail price tags and allow player’s access to all the service’s titles. For a $15/month subscription fee, of course. That said, they’re also all available for individual purchase as well.
Assassin’s Creed Unity clocks in at $29.99, but Stadia Pro members can purchase the other two titles at a discount. Assassin’s Creed Syndicate starts at $8.99 with a $10 Stadia Pro membership, or $29.99 for non-Pro users. Finally, Assassin’s Creed Origins is available starting at $11.99 for Pro members; otherwise it carries the usual $59.99 retail price.
