Google’s parent Alphabet has announced that it will shut down its internal game development studio that develops video games for its cloud-based game-streaming service, Stadia. Thus making the service entirely dependant on titles from other game developers and publishers.
The company announced that it is shutting down the development arm due to the high costs involved in developing games that attract users. To recall, the development arm was set up together with Stadia when the platform launched back in 2019.
What did Google say?
Phil Harrison, vice president and general manager of Google Stadia in a blog post stated, “creating best-in-class games from the ground up takes many years and significant investment, and the cost is going up exponentially.”
The blog post further stated that Jade Raymond, head of Google’s Stadia Games and Entertainment, will leave the company to pursue other opportunities. The blog post did not provide us with details about what the other members of the team will be doing after the shut down of Stadia Games and Entertainment.
Stadia in the past
To recall, Stadia Director of Games Jack Buser during an interview said that over 400 new games will be heading to Stadia in recent times. As of now, the lineup count for Stadia Pro games currently accounts for over 30 games.
Stadia Pro is currently priced at $9.99 (roughly Rs 740) per month. The service is currently limited to Canada, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, US, UK and a few more. The service, unfortunately, is currently not available in India. The company has not even announced when it will be debuting the service in the country.
What did Google shut down in 2020?
Google being a huge tech conglomerate keeps on setting new divisions and closing down old underperforming divisions to maintain an overall upward growth trajectory. Last year was no different with the company launching multiple new platforms and closing down older ones.
To recall, it shut down multiple apps and services including Science Journal, Trusted Contacts, Play Music, Nest Secure, Hire, Password Checkup extension, Focals by North, Photos Print, Pigeon Transit, Shoelace, Neighbourly, Station, One Today and Androidify.
from Google shuts its in-house game development studio for Stadia
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