Google's ambitious Stadia gaming service is finally getting 'Madden' and 'FIFA' this winter

• Last November, Google finally launched Google Stadia, a major gaming platform that was in development for years.
• Instead of buying games on a disc or downloading them from a digital store, Stadia users stream games over the internet. The service is free to use for anyone with a Google account.
• The platform's launch was rocky at best, with missing features and a paltry game library. Months later, Stadia's game library still remains sparse.
• But Google just revealed a huge wave of games coming to Stadia this year, including two pillars of other major gaming platforms: "Madden NFL" and "FIFA."
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Google's ambitious video game service, Google Stadia, is getting two major additions later this year: EA's annual "FIFA" and "Madden NFL" game series are coming to the service for the first time.

The latest entries from both series are expected to arrive to the service "this winter," Google announced on Tuesday during a Stadia Connect broadcast on YouTube.

The news of "Madden NFL" and "FIFA" joining Stadia was revealed alongside a slew of other games headed to the service, including "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" and "Octopath Traveler" on April 28, and "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" at some point this fall.

If you haven't heard of Google Stadia yet, you're not alone — the service struggled to gain traction when it launched in November 2019, and hasn't taken off in the months since.

After years of development and hype, Google's long-rumored push into video games arrived last November with the launch of Google Stadia.

It isn't a game console, nor is it a game platform, really — it's a digital storefront run by Google where you can buy individual games. Stadia is a hugely ambitious new platform, and it aims to be the Netflix of gaming.

The idea is to bring games with you wherever you go, as long as there's a strong, stable internet connection.

Rather than downloading games or playing them off a Blu-ray disc, Stadia streams games to you wherever you are, like how Netflix streams movies and TV shows. The service works on most Android smartphones, any computer with an internet browser, and through Chromecast Ultra devices.

You can see Google's full Stadia announcement video right here: