In context: It's been quite some time since Stadia was first announced and released, and so far, very few of the major, innovative features it promised have materialized. However, that might change on July 1, when Stadia exclusive "Crayta" releases on the platform.
Crayta bills itself as a collaborative third-person game creation engine that brings together people of all "ages, abilities, and backgrounds." Using Crayta's in-game tools, gamers can construct and play competitive shooters, racing minigames, competitive cooking sims (in the vein of Overcooked), and much more. The minigames are, of course, unified (and limited) by Crayta's Fortnite-like art style, but that aside, the possibilities seem endless.
More importantly, Crayta will be one of the first games to house a unique Stadia function: State Share. State Share lets users effectively share a snapshot of their game world with other people around the world, just by pasting a unique link.
This lets screenshot fanatics invite the world to experience a specific vista in an attractive in-game area, or allow others to toy around with their own custom-made content in the blink of an eye. State Share can also act as a quick invite system: by clicking your link, people can hop right into your game world in supported games, allowing for, say, collaborative building in Crayta, or a coop gaming session in a different title.
As we said before, Crayta is expected to launch on July 1, which is just a couple weeks away. On release, you'll be able to play with up to 20 other users in a single session, but developer Unit 2 is viewing Crayta as more of a live service than a one-time release, so expect consistent updates and improvements over time.
Crayta is not available for pre-order, but you can pick it up via the Stadia Store on release day for $39.99.