[Update: New format] Google trialing daily community updates about Stadia

Before Stadia launched, Google said that it was “aiming to release” new Stadia features weekly. This morning, Google announced on r/Stadia that it’s “experimenting with a new method of information delivery this week.”

Update 12/3: Given that daily communication was billed as a limited-time experiment, Google on Monday did not publish community announcements. The Stadia team is now only going to “post updates when [they] have something significant to share.”

While a daily cadence would be fantastic, we found that we might not always have a meaningful update and we’d rather just let you all know when something cool unfolds. On top of that, we worry that posting daily sets an unrealistic precedent for our communications. We want you all to know that we’re here and we’re listening, but we might not always have the ability to reach out and respond to requests.

The company is thinking of a “pivoting to a weekly update, perhaps on a Wednesday or Thursday.” This will retain the “overall bigger impact” and “value.” That said, there was a community update today.

From Monday to Wednesday this week, Google will post a stickied thread with timestamped updates to “drop any new information we have to share with the Stadia community.” There will be no posts this Thursday and Friday due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, but the format would otherwise be daily.

We’re going to be experimenting with a new method of information delivery this week. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, you can expect a new stickied thread from either me or Grace each day. In that thread, we will make timestamped updates to drop any new information we have to share with the Stadia community… starting today! Thursday and Friday are national holidays here in the USA, so while we will be keeping :eyes: on the community, we will not be doing any significant info drops on those days.

The first update for November 25th deals with Premiere Edition hardware being sent out, along with codes. There are no reports of the latter occurring yet. Google also provided a reminder that all Founders as of Friday should have their codes, and to contact support if that is not the case.

Daily Stadia updates are described as an experiment, and one needed given the newness of Stadia as a platform, and the traditional high amount of engagement in the gaming community.  Meanwhile, Google has promised a number of features post-launch, including an interface for achievements that Stadia is already recording. Google Assistant is also not yet available on the Stadia Controller on any form factor.

More broadly, Google’s communication of new features is usually disjointed between tweets, blog posts, and support articles. The Stadia team centralizing on Reddit is a good call, with the platform being better at allowing for long-form discussion.