Google Stadia is closing its first-party development studios, Stadia VP Phil Harrison announced. Stadia will have no platform exclusives “beyond any near-term games,” and Harrison cited time and cost as the primary reasons behind the recent decision.
According to sources from an exclusive Kotaku report, the closer leaves approximately 150 developers without jobs. Harrison said Google will try to help them find new positions, though Jade Raymond, former head of Google’s development studio, left the company “to pursue other opportunities.”
While Stadia won’t have any first-party games moving forward in the long term, the statement said Google will continue to support Stadia in other ways.
Harrison said:
We’re expanding our efforts to help game developers and publishers take advantage of our platform technology and deliver games directly to their players.
We see an important opportunity to work with partners seeking a gaming solution all built on Stadia’s advanced technical infrastructure and platform tools.
Stadia subscriptions will continue as normal, new Stadia members can still purchase subscriptions and get started with Stadia’s free plans, and the decision won’t affect game libraries in any way.
Harrison said the platform’s goal moving forward is delivering high-quality third-party content to all Stadia players and, in the process, advancing the position of cloud gaming in the industry.
Our goal remains focused on creating the best possible platform for gamers and technology for our partners, bringing these experiences to life for people everywhere.
[Sources: Google, Kotaku]
