In what has become an increasingly regular occurrence, mobile carriers continue to pile on the perks for new and existing consumers in order to keep them from leaving for greener pastures. Just last month, Verizon announced that subscribers could get up to 12 months of Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass for free. Now AT&T is countering with its own gaming-themed promotion.
Starting on Wednesday, June 9th, select AT&T wireless and fiber customers will be able to snag a six-month subscription to Stadia Pro for free. Stadia is Google’s cloud gaming platform, and Stadia Pro is a premium subscription service that gives every member access to a growing selection of free games, discounts on titles in the Stadia store, and the ability to play games in 60 fps with 4K resolution, High Dynamic Range visuals, and 5.1 surround sound on supported devices.
“With the AT&T network powering your 6-month access to Stadia Pro, you‘ll have less skips, lags and freezes and start gaming at its full potential,” AT&T said in a press release today. “And it doesn’t stop there. As part of our collaboration with Stadia, we’re also exploring ways to enhance our 5G and Fiber networks that will help innovate and improve the gaming experience in the future.”
You can learn more about the deal at ATT.com/gaming on Wednesday, but it will be made available to new and existing wireless customers on eligible unlimited plans that add or upgrade to 5G phones as well as AT&T Fiber customers that upgrade to 300Mbps or higher speed plans.
In addition to giving away 6-month Stadia Pro subscriptions, AT&T is also offering eligible customers discounted Stadia Premiere Edition bundles, which include a Stadia Controller and Chromecast Ultra, for just $19.99. That’s a full $80 cheaper than on the Google Store.
If you subscribe to AT&T and happen to qualify for the deal, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to give Stadia a test run to see how it runs on your various devices.
That said, we have no idea how long Stadia is going to stay afloat, as Google decided to shut down its internal game studios earlier this year before they even had a chance to get off the ground. The game selection is still lacking, and unless you have the perfect setup, chances are that your experience with playing games over the cloud is all but guaranteed to be subpar.
Nevertheless, Jay Cary, VP of 5G Product & Innovation at AT&T, is thrilled about the collaboration:
“When you’re gaming with Stadia Pro, AT&T 5G and AT&T Fiber provide the backbone for a seamless gaming experience whether you’re playing in your home or on the go. Powering great experiences that our customers love, like gaming, is what our networks do best.”
Keep in mind that if you decide to take AT&T up on the free offer, you’ll automatically start being charged $9.99 per month for Stadia Pro once the six-month subscription comes to an end.
