EDIT 20220929: Google to close Stadia cloud service and refund gamers
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-47634263
If it does indeed go for a subscription model, Google has some important decisions to make about how will dish money out to publishers.
On YouTube, one of the stats that determines how much ad revenue creators get is “minutes watched”. In gaming, “minutes played” could lead to some developers introducing gameplay mechanics that are counter-intuitive to a good time, but vital if they are to gain income.
Or, developers might have to make up the loss of funds by encouraging players to pay for additional items to progress more quickly, in a far more aggressive manner than console gamers are used to today.
The ad-laden, endorphin-pumping, lootbox-peddling mobile gaming industry might be considered the canary in a very miserable coal-mine, here. Paying for a games console, and its games, may not be such a bad thing after all.