(Reuters) - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc's Google said on Wednesday it would give two months of free access to the paid version of its cloud-based game streaming platform Stadia as people are confined to their homes due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Users can access Stadia by downloading the app on their iOS or Android phones or by signing up on its website.
The company said its offer was open to users in 14 countries, starting Wednesday, and would be rolled out over the next 48 hours.
The paid version, Stadia Pro, otherwise costs $9.99 a month and offers access to games such as "GRID" and "Destiny 2: The Collection" in 4K resolution.
"To reduce load on the internet further, we're working toward a temporary feature that changes the default screen resolution from 4k to 1080p", the company said https://www.blog.google/products/stadia/try-stadia-free-today in a blog post.
Google's Stadia, launched https://www.reuters.com/article/us-alphabet-google-stadia/google-enters-gaming-with-cloud-based-streaming-service-stadia-idUSKBN1XT2L2 in November, is expected to compete with Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT)'s upcoming Project xCloud.