Stadia is testing a new game trial system tied to achievements

gamedeveloper.com:

Google Stadia is A/B testing a new type of game trial under its "Click To Play" system. Starting earlier this week, half of players accessing the game trials for Remedy Entertainment's Control and Rebellion Development's Sniper Elite 4 are being invited to demo the game with unlimited access until they unlock certain achievements.

That means 50 percent of players are trying out these games under conventional timed game trials, and the other 50 percent have been given access to the new achievement-based trial system. These trials are accessible without a Stadia account. 

According to the Stadia team, players trying out these games are being split 50/50 in order to examine the effects of a different trial length metric. Under this new system, players would be allowed to play the demos for an unlimited amount of time until they access a key achievement.

For instance, in Sniper Elite 4, players can try out the game until they complete the "Beginning of the End" achievement, which comes at the end of the first mission. Rebellion North head of studio Arden Aspinall told Game Developer that unlocking said achievement takes roughly an hour for most players. 

But because the trial isn't time-locked, players who may not be able to complete the first level in that hour will have a more complete experience.

"We want new players to experience the 'observe…plan… execute…' mantra that sits behind the game," Aspinall explained. "You can run and gun if you want to, but the best results tend to come from considering your options and planning your attack accordingly."

For developers concerned about players having unlimited access to the early part of the game, there are two facts to keep in mind. First, if players complete the demo, their