Bengaluru NFAPost: Google has confirmed its decision to shut down the internal game studios on its Stadia platform, after rethinking its strategy to expand Stadia platform with third-party titles while abandoning its own original content.
This comes as a big jolt amid all the hype surrounding Google’s cloud platform that directly competes with the likes of Nvidia’s GeForce Now and Microsoft’s newly launched quantum computing platform which is now being valued at $35 million.
Here’s what Google had to say about its new approach to its Cloud platform development for gaming:
“Creating best-in-class games from the ground up takes many years and significant investment, and the cost is going up exponentially. 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.”
Meanwhile, James Raymond who heads the Google’s Stadia Games and Entertainment has reportedly decided to quit the company in pursuit of better opportunities. The platform development team has now been assigned to other roles as per the company’s recent statement.
Apart from those already announced for release, Stadia will not see any more original titles in the future, according to a recent report by Kotaku. The report clarifies that the company is ruling out “basically any games slated for release beyond a specific 2021 window.”
The Stadia is expected to continue supporting all third-party exclusives to be launched on the platform while there won’t be any first party titles going forward.
With Stadia’s diminishing profile following the shutdown of its internal game studios, the future of cloud gaming looks bleaker than ever as it takes a backseat to more traditional gaming platforms like consoles and PCs.
Google Stadia will no longer hold the distinction of being a potential alternative to traditional gaming platforms as it falls in the shadows of existing streaming services like the GeForce Now.
Without first-party titles, the Cloud gaming services will fall flat on their face in comparison with full-fledged gaming platforms like consoles and PCs.