“Every game that supports State Share will feature game states with different gameplay elements included, such as the player’s current items, difficulty level, objectives and more,” Catherine Hsiao, Stadia project manager, said in a blog post last week. “So it’s really as easy as saving a capture on Stadia and sharing the link with friends, viewers, or followers so they can click to launch the game and play for themselves.”

In addition to the Hitman 3 launch, Pikuniku, a cheery puzzle-filled game, will be available on Stadia on Jan. 21. Meanwhile, Stadia’s free play weekend kicks off on Thursday, featuring WWE 2K Battlegrounds and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint.

Google will also package its game streaming service with Google TV in early 2021. Stadia will also be included with built-in access on LG TVs in the latter half of the year.

Not to be outdone, Amazon’s Prime Gaming released its second exclusive Fall Guys bundle, the slushie bear bundle. In keeping with the season three winter knockout theme, the bundle includes a new slushie bear costume and 6500 kudos. Four additional Fall Guys bundles are slated for unknown dates through May.

Elsewhere, software and console manufacturer AtGames has launched ArcadeNet, a streaming games service exclusively for Legends Arcade Family products. The easy-to-use service provides instant access to a growing library of arcade, console and pinball games. ArcadeNet offers two subscription paths: ArcadeNet Basic, allowing access to a limited number of games; and ArcadeNet Standard, which provides access to the full library.

Microsoft recently released its lineup of exclusive titles coming to Xbox consoles in 2021. Most notable on the list is the long-awaited Halo Infinite, ambiguously scheduled for some time later this year. Other titles on the list include The Medium, Microsoft Flight Simulator, The Yakuza Remastered Collection, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life and The Ascent, among others.

Photo courtesy of IO Interactive