Stadia Pro's free January games are 'Rise of the Tomb Raider' and 'Thumper'

Google is bolstering Stadia Pro's 'free' game lineup once more, although you might not be quite so thrilled with the consequences. The game streaming service is adding both the adventure sequel Rise of the Tomb Raider and the rhythm title Thumper to its no-extra-charge selection as of January 1st. However, Google is also taking away Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition on December 31st at 12PM Eastern. It'll still be available to play after that date if you claim it in time, but you'll have to miss out on the start of Lara's journey if you sign up in 2020.

The shuffle will bring Stadia Pro's total bonus catalog to five games. That's certainly better than what Google offered on launch, but it still leaves a core problem unaddressed: the selection of freebies isn't particularly strong. There's neither an abundance of games nor any must-haves. Of course, that's part of why Stadia will have a free tier -- you can focus on buying newer titles if you feel Pro's included games aren't worth the subscription fee.