Google has announced the shutdown of their in-house development studios, Stadia Games and Entertainment. This announcement is simultaneously disappointing and unsurprising. If Stadia’s downward spiral continues, gamers will have to rely exclusively on third-party titles for the Stadia platform.
Stadia’s closure means current team members will be moving to other roles at Google. Its lead, Jade Raymond, will be leaving Google altogether to “pursue other opportunities”. It’s hard to say if in-progress games will be released, but it seems unlikely with the current news.. Goggle indicated its focus is being pivoted to building a better platform for its existing user base.
Stadia faces tough competition with Xbox Game Pass cloud gaming, GeForce NOW, Amazon Luna, and even PlayStation NOW. Leaving Stadia in a difficult position in the cloud gaming market. Microsoft’s alternative was already a better alternative before Stadia was even released. When Microsoft launched their beta for cloud gaming, it provided a selection of more than 150 titles. A massive number in comparison to Stadia’s 22 game launch.
It is worth noting that Stadia does currently have partnerships with development studios to create exclusive titles for Stadia. So the platform will still have experiences unique to the platform. However, with Microsoft and others so far ahead of the game, one can only wonder if they will compete long-term.
What do you think? Are you a Stadia user? How do you feel about the current state of the platform? Let us know in the comments below!
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