Google Stadia offline gaming - is it possible? We explain

With Google Stadia, you can play on your PC, mobile device or TV regardless of your own hardware. But is that also possible offline? Our guide explains what it looks like.

Once online, always online: Stadia is not meant for offline use.

Google Stadia is currently the biggest name in cloud gaming. A notable competitor is Nvidia's GeForce NOW, although there are some important differences between the services.

Playing Stadia offline: Here's the situation

The answer is clear:

• Stadia is a pure cloud service, all data and processes are thus hosted by the provider (Google).
• No offline use is possible because of this: Stadia is fully designed to handle all calculations for the client.
• You consequently always need a (sufficient) Internet connection to play your Stadia content.
• This may well be seen as a negative point, but is in the nature of things. In a way, it is the price you pay for being able to play even the latest titles in all their glory without your own hardware.

Since games for Stadia are purchased separately, they cannot be used by Google's cloud system as well. This is different with GeForce NOW: Here, you simply integrate your existing games from platforms like Steam and Co. So even without an Internet connection, you can launch them normally, but then you are dependent on your own local computing power.