Google has announced that it will be winding down Stadia Games and Entertainment and internal game development, and it will focus on supporting developers and publishers with Stadia’s streaming technology.
Kotaku broke the news right before Google made its official announcement, after hearing rumors about the change from its sources last week. Google has confirmed that it “will not be investing further bringing exclusive content from our internal development team SG&E, beyond any near-termed planned games.”
https://twitter.com/GoogleStadia/status/1356326487134068738
According to Kotaku, both Google’s Montreal and Los Angeles locations will be affected. Reportedly, around 150 developers will be impacted, although Google is looking to provide new roles to them within the company.
Google stated that Jade Raymond, who was hired in 2019 to lead Stadia Games and Entertainment, will be leaving the company. She is known most for her work on the Assassin’s Creed series at Ubisoft. However, Phil Harrison, Google’s Head of Stadia operations, is staying with the company and will be in charge of these new partnerships.
The company has clarified that existing players can continue playing games on Stadia and Stadia Pro with additional third-party game support coming as usual. Google affirms that it will continue on committing to cloud streaming in the industry, with Stadia’s most recent feature being Stadia State Share with the Hitman trilogy.
