Super Bomberman R Online appeared on Stadia as a Free with Pro game back in September, 2020. Taking a quick look at it, I really enjoyed Super Bomberman R's fun and bouncy gameplay - but as usual with multiplayer games on Google's streaming platform, I fretted over the player base and whether Stadia's smaller install base would be able to support a battle royale in the long term.
Stadia seems to have resolved that issue, by today converting Super Bomberman R Online over to a free-to-play title. To clarify, there is a difference between "Free with Pro" and free-to-play. Free with Pro games are given to Stadia Pro members once a month, and are available to members so long as they maintain their $10-a-month Pro membership. Free-to-play titles on Stadia are just that - no Pro membership needed. Anyone with Chrome, a controller, and a Gmail account can log into Stadia and play for absolutely free. Adding Super Bomberman R Online to the free-to-play list feels like it will pretty much resolve that whole "player base" issue.
Super Bomberman R Online is Stadia's second free-to-play game, after Destiny 2 blasted the doors off of Stadia's paywall last month. Before then, you either needed to get games via a Pro membership, or buy them outright. Now it seems that Stadia is committing to a new way of distributing games - giving them to the public at large for absolutely nothing.
The zeitgeist on Stadia has turned a corner lately. Twitter is full of testimonials every day from new users that picked up a Stadia Premiere with a YouTube membership, tried it out, and had their socks knocked off. Adding free games for everyone will likely help solidify the new momentum that Stadia has gained.
You can play Super Bomberman R Online right now, by clicking here.
