Stadia now experimenting with free game trials starting with Hello Engineer

Free trials are currently limited to 30 minutes but that could change.

What you need to know

• Stadia now allows games to offer free trials so players can try a game before purchasing or subscribing to Stadia Pro if it is available on the service.
• Multiplayer construction game Hello Engineer is the first Stadia title to offer a 30-minute free trial.
• Google says it is experimenting with the feature and game trials could change time allotted or what players can access them.

Google Stadia is now offering free game trials for players to try a game before buying it, starting with one game and potentially expanding over the next couple months.

The company quietly added the feature, as 9to5Google reports, with multiplayer construction game Hello Engineer being the first title. Stadia players can sign in and click on the free trial option from the game's store page to begin a 30-minute trial. It is important to note that pausing within the game does not pause the trial, so the 30-minute timer shown does not stop after clicking start.

Google told The Verge in a statement that the free trials are "an experiment" that the company will be trying over the next couple of months, and will offer more titles for the feature. It's worth noting that the 30-minute timer may change and certain players may see different trials of games over others.

There is a store page dedicated to games with free trials, though Hello Engineer is currently the only game on the list. The feature could come to some of the best Stadia games for players to try, but only time will tell.

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Play and Watch with Google TV Package is the latest bundle that contains the Chromecast with Google TV and a Stadia controller to easily get into playing Stadia games on the television.