Detail of a Google Stadia video game controller, taken on February 14, 2020. (Photo by Neil Godwin/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Tech - News
Google Stadia Shutdown Took Employees, Game Devs By Surprise
By NADEEM SARWAR
Google’s abrupt decision to shut down its cloud-based game streaming service, Stadia, has surprised the gaming industry. While Stadia wasn’t a universally loved service, its community members were troubled by the news, especially the players who have spent money on games that will soon be lost as the hardware becomes obsolete in a few months.
Players weren’t the only ones shocked by the news, as it seems that Google kept its developer and publishing partners in the dark about the decision to end Stadia. Some of the game developers working on Stadia took to Twitter about the news, with SFB Games’ Tom Vian tweeting that he had learned about the service shutting down from an article, and the studio had a game slated for release two days later.
Other video game developers and studios with games slated for release in the following months have also stated that they were not informed of Google’s decision, with larger companies such as Bungie also being kept out of the loop. According to an Axios report, Stadia reps are reaching out to publishing and development partners with reimbursement deals for those affected.