As videogame technology advanced with
the power of the internet, it became possible for the developers to enable
their customers to play games without needing for them to have physical copies
of the game media on their consoles or computers. Thus began cloud gaming
services, with Sony’s PlayStation Now (for PS3 and succeeding consoles) and
Nvidia with GeForce NOW on desktops and laptops. Google, the internet giant,
saw these developments and decided to throw its hat into the cloud gaming ring
with the Stadia platform, launched in 2019. While the platform had some highlights
like its superb streaming performance for CD Projekt’s action-RPG “Cyberpunk
2077,” the overall experience was lackluster.
It thus comes as no surprise
when, as reported by The Verge, that
Google had axed its in-house development division for exclusive games and
third-party publishing on the Stadia. Stadia Games and Development was
established only in March 2019, a few months before the Stadia platform’s debut
in November that same year. It was supposed to develop games especially made to
play on Stadia, plus publish titles from third parties. But nothing substantial
came from this outfit, and a change in Google’s direction for Stadia pretty
much ensured its closure.
As a result of the Stadia Games
and Development closure, 150 employees of said division have been affected.
Worse, game development chief Jade Raymond, formerly of Ubisoft and Electronic Arts,
will be leaving Google completely.
Without its own in-house team,
Google is refocusing the Stadia cloud services as a place where existing
(veteran) game developers can port their videogames for cloud streaming play. A
statement from Google VP and Stadia GM Phil Harrison notes the many years and
major financial investment that goes into creating games, particularly the ones
going into current and next-gen consoles now. Harrison says, “Given our focus
on building on the proven technology of Stadia as well as deepening our
business partnerships, we’ve decided that we will not be investing further in
bringing exclusive content from our internal development team SG&E, beyond
any near-term planned games.”
Despite assurances that Google
Stadia will remain active (with free tier and $9.99 Pro subscription), gamers
who have given the platform a chance cannot help but be disappointed that there
will be no videogames forthcoming. Industry observers are of the opinion that
Google may be shutting down its own game-making ambitions to entice more
big-name developers to try their titles on Stadia, now that they have no
first-party competition. In doing so the once-promising cloud gaming service
has become all but a clone of all other cloud platforms that cater to existing
consoles and PCs.
Image courtesy of PC Gamer
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