Just like Microsoft has its Xbox Live Free Games with Gold program and Sony has the PlayStation Plus Instant Game Collection, Google Stadia has a Pro subscription that gets subscribers free games every month. Since the Stadia launch in November, Google has released two free games to Stadia Pro subscribers every month, having just revealed the new free games that will be added for Pro subscribers beginning January 1, 2020.
It's been confirmed that the next two free Google Stadia games are Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration and Thumper. For the uninitiated, Rise of the Tomb Raider is the critically-acclaimed sequel to the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot. Since the Tomb Raider reboot was actually one of the previous free Stadia Pro games, it's fitting that Rise of the Tomb Raider is next up for subscribers so players can continue Lara Croft's adventure.
Thumper, meanwhile, may not be as well known as Tomb Raider, but it's still a well-received game. Thumper is a rhythm game with trippy visuals that has earned high scores from critics, especially when it comes to the virtual reality version. While Thumper may be best played in VR, it should still provide a quality experience for those who decide to play it through Google's Stadia service.
In the meantime, Google also confirmed one game that will be leaving its Stadia Pro lineup soon. Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition will no longer be free to claim beginning December 31, giving fans less than a week to claim the free game for their library. Once it's claimed, Pro subscribers will have access to Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition until they decide to cancel their Pro subscription.
Overall, Google has gone all-out with its Stadia Pro games, with each month having some rather significant titles. Stadia's library isn't all that big at the time of this writing, though, so Google will need to expand it significantly if it was to keep giving Stadia Pro subscribers two free games per month.
Stadia's choice to keep some of the free Stadia Pro games available for longer than just a month at a time may also prove to be a popular decision, and it will give new Stadia Pro subscribers an instant collection of games as soon as they sign up. That may very well be Google's strategy when it comes to the Stadia Pro subscription, but even though some games may be available for quite awhile, Stadia pro subscribers should try to claim them as soon as possible so they don't forget to later on.
Rise of the Tomb Raider and Thumper will be available to Google Stadia Pro subscribers beginning January 1, 2020.