Verizon adds free Google Stadia bundle in latest Fios gigabit offer
Verizon is going after gamers with its latest Fios deal. Everyone else gets $100.
New Verizon gigabit internet customers will be able to get Google's Stadia Premiere Edition for free.
Verizon has a new promotion to lure customers to switch to its fastest Fios home broadband service: a free Google Stadia bundle for those who get the company's Fios gigabit internet.
The new deal, which goes live next week, on Jan. 29, will have Verizon include a free Google Stadia Premiere Edition with the internet service. The usually $129 Premiere bundle includes a wireless controller, Chromecast Ultra for 4K gaming on a TV and a three-month Stadia Pro subscription. After three months, Stadia Pro will run $9.99 a month.
Google's cloud gaming service has gotten off to a slow start since its release late last year with a small selection of games and the mobile gaming aspect still largely limited to select Chromebook laptops and Pixel phones (though it is possible to play on other Android devices).
For Google, getting its service into more hands is a good way to help with exposure. Verizon, meanwhile, gets another incentive to get people to switch to its fastest Fios internet offering, with the telecom giant already including a one-year subscription to Disney Plus.
The Google offer stacks on top of the Disney deal, so new customers will be able to get both perks so long as they subscribe to gigabit, which starts at $80 a month and includes a router (slower Fios offerings are not eligible).
Those who don't care for Stadia will still be able to get a $100 Visa gift card instead, which is an existing promotion.
There's no word on whether existing Fios customers will be able to take advantage of the promo, but Verizon says Stadia news for its 5G Home customers will be "coming soon."
