Today, Google has officially announced the termination of its Stadia streaming service. While the writing has been on the wall for some time, there are still many games in development for the platform, including interlocking tower. The game was set on service in just a couple of days and SFB Games’ Tom Vian didn’t find out until the news spread online. Vian shared his disappointment about the news on Twitter, describing it as “extremely disturbing”. Old Skuul CEO Rebecca Heinemann responded to Vian’s tweet, explaining that she was also unaware, and that her studio was due to launch at Stadia on November 1.
Tweets from Vian and Heinemann can be found embedded below.
We have a title coming out on the 1st of November. Now we hear about this.
– Rebecca Heinemann (@burgerbecky) September 29, 2022
Google has pledged to compensate Stadia users for their purchases, but it’s unclear if any developers will receive similar treatment. Mike Rose from No More Robots also had a game slated for release in November, and he stated on Twitter That the studio hasn’t been given “any clarification on what’s going on with our games, our deals, anything.” Rose also went on to say that this is why many developers have avoided releasing games on Stadia in the first place. As of this writing, it’s unclear how many games were still in development for the platform, but it seems likely that all developers have been kept aware of Google’s plans to shut down the service.
Video game development is an expensive process, and now studios like SFB Games, Old Skuul, and No More Robots have to worry more about offsetting development costs. While the cash investment is certainly frustrating, many of these teams were hoping Stadia would help their games reach new audiences. The time spent developing Stadia could have been devoted to other platforms instead. The whole thing is a disappointing case for everyone involved; Hopefully, Google honors its deals and makes sure these studios aren’t left with a bag.
Are you disappointed that Google Stadia is about to expire? Do you think the developers should have been informed earlier? Tell us in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at Tweet embed To talk about all things gaming!
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