Google has reportedly started quietly deprioritizing Google Stadia, and exploring new ways to integrate its streaming tech into other areas of its business.
According toBusiness Insider(paywalled, transcribed by VGC), since announcing the closure of its internal studios last year,Googlehas “shifted the focus of its Stadia division largely to securing white-label deals with partners that include Peloton,Capcom, andBungie, according to people familiar with the plan”.
The publication goes on to claim that the company is “shopping the technology to partners under a new game: Google Stream”.
Google is reportedly attempting to “salvage” the technology that allows players to stream games such asDestiny2,Red Dead Redemption 2and more at low latency.
The report claims that the Stadia consumer platform, meanwhile, has been “deprioritized” within Google and that the company has a “reduced interest in negotiating blockbuster third-party titles.”
One of the new homes for the Stadia technology is reportedly the fitness giant Peloton, which it’s claimed is a focus of Google’s efforts. This would allow users with Peloton bikes to play games while on the machines.
A more traditional gaming partner, Bungie, has also been in discussions with Google. Part of Google’s pitch was reportedly for Destiny to become “a platform of its own”. It’s unclear howSony‘s recent $3.6 billion acquisition of Bungie will affect these negotiations.
Capcom, publisher ofResident Eviland Monster Hunter, is also said to be in talks with Google about potential integrations with the Stadia technology. This would include running demos for upcoming Capcom titles on its website.
Player retention is reportedly a “huge problem” forGoogle Stadia. Business Insider reports that “(Phil) Harrison and other executives set a goal to reach 1 million monthly active users by the end of 2020, which they missed by about 25%, according to a person familiar with the conversations.”
Phil Harrison, a veteran of the video games industry who has worked atMicrosoftand Sony, has been the face of Google Stadia since its unveiling in 2019.
Ongoing industry consolidations is reportedly a big worry for the Google executive team. “When Microsoft announced in 2020 that it would acquire the Elder Scrolls studioBethesda, it ‘scared the crap out of Google executives,’ a former employee close to those conversations said.”
In a response to Business Insider’s report, Googlesaid: “The Stadia team is working really hard on a great future for Stadia and cloud gaming. We hope you agree, and we know the proof is in the playing.”
Last year Google decided toclose all its internal game development teamsin order to focus on partnering with third-party studios.
The decision was followed by several high profile departures. They included former Stadia games bossJade Raymond, wholeft to form a new studio called Haven, which is backed byPlayStationand has sincehired six more former Stadia employees.
Questioned last summer during the ongoing Epic vsApplecourt case,Epic GamesCEOTim Sweeneysaid the Google Stadia servicehas been “significantly cut back”, as he understands it.
