The Google Stadia game streaming service has never been able to compete with better-known offerings like Xbox Game Pass, but the latest developments are terrifying, to say the least. In this article, we explain exactly what recent events point to the imminent end of Google Stadia.
Internal development studios were dissolved.
Phil Harrison, Vice President and General Manager of Google Stadia, announced some time ago that Google will no longer focus on game development and that there will no longer be in-house development studios.
Since none of the developer studios bought or partially established by Google were able to develop really successful games, they only worked together with third-party developer studios and offered third-party games with the streaming service.
However, some fatal mistakes were also made when it came to bringing in third-party developers. After Google was able to win over successful Assassin’s Creed producer Jade Raymond, she was not allowed to announce a single game in all this time and left the Google publisher after only a year of cooperation.
As a publisher, Google has not been able to successfully consolidate itself in all this time and, with these statements, it admits clear defeats that have also cost it dearly. With this, the great fall of Google Stadia is already announced, which we can now clearly observe.
Google Stadia just doesn’t sit well with gamers
Even if the streaming service is convincing in terms of performance and can even easily pocket the PS Now streaming service, Google Stadia has never attracted a large number of gamers. Instead, the platform is used almost exclusively by casual gamers playing smaller indie games.
Games like Destiny 2, for example, perform well, but don’t attract as many players as Xbox Game Pass. But why is that?
Unlike Google Stadia, Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass not only offers its own well-known developer studios with hit game titles, but also has a huge community behind it due to the long and successful history with the Xbox console. And it is precisely these numbers that are noticeable in the end when used.
Stadia is now hidden from Google
The latest developments are a final indication of the final “shutdown” of the Stadia game streaming service. After the “Google I/O” developer conference held on May 11, 2022 and the associated presentation of the new “Pixel Buds” headphones, the “Games” tab in the Google Store is suddenly not so easy to find anymore.
Previously, the “Games” tab, which was of particular interest to Google Stadia users, had its fixed place on the home page and could not be ignored. However, “Pixel Buds” headphones have now conquered this place.
Google Stadia will not disappear completely, because of course, despite the failure, there are gamers who have invested money in the platform and have bought games through Stadia. So instead of permanently removing Stadia, the platform was simply moved to the far corner of the Google Store.
As of now, Google Stadia can only be found in the store in the “Smart Home” area, a blanket term that is completely inappropriate if you combine it with the word “game.” Stadia can be reached there via a controller prompt.
So the end of the platform is closer than ever with this new move by Google. Actually, Google seems to have given up on Stadia and apparently doesn’t want to put more costs on the service.
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