Google Stadia Gets Electronic Arts Support After Slow Start

(Bloomberg) -- Electronic Arts Inc. will launch five games on Google’s Stadia, providing a vote of confidence for a platform that’s been slow to catch on.

The titles going to Stadia will include Star Wars: Fallen Order and Madden NFL, Electronic Arts said in a statement Tuesday. They’ll begin to roll out by this winter, with more coming in 2021.

Limited selection of games has been one of the biggest criticisms of Stadia. Adding some well-known titles should help the platform gain an edge in an increasingly crowded online gaming market, where it looks to challenge the more established Steam.

“Stadia simply has to be aggressive to compete with Steam’s breadth and scale,” said Matthew Kanterman, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. Google is likely offering generous terms to EA, he said.

Launched in November, Stadia lets players play video games on TVs, laptops, desktops and certain tablets and phones. The service is free for anyone with a Google account, but a Stadia Pro subscription costs $10 a month after a free trial.

“We’re thrilled to see some of Electronic Arts’ biggest hits come to the Stadia,” said Phil Harrison, general manager and vice president at Google.

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