Google Shuts Down Stadia Studios A Week After Saying They Were Making 'Great Progress'

Google announced on February 1^st that it would shut down the in-house Stadia studios. The news came as a surprise for both Stadia customers and the development team who were told a week prior to the announcement that the studios were making great progress.

Here is what Phil Harrison – Stadia general manager and a Google vice president, said in an email to staff on January 27^th:

The email bears promises of the new strategy and goals for the studio in 2021 but instead of development objectives, a few days later, Harrison said the studios would be shut down.

The most pressing question now for both Stadia customers and the development team is what has changed in the week between the announcement and the email.

Harrison made public a blog post explaining the decision and he cited the rising cost of making games as one of the factors driving the shutdown. However, given Google’s massive market cap of $1.4 trillion, it’s hard to understand money is the sole reason, given the fact that the Stadia team has been given a lot less time than other projects to prove its worth.

On February 4^th, in a Q&A with staff, Harrison admitted that the company’s exes were informed of the shutdown before the email of praise was sent. He also reportedly cited the hardship caused by COVID-19 and the fact that Microsoft acquired Bethesda as the reason for the shutdown.

By giving up on Stadia studios before they managed to deliver any big first-party exclusives, Google has proven that it wasn’t as serious about the whole gaming initiatives as it has once seemed.

>>> Google Stadia Hands-On: Playable But Under Ideal Conditions Only