Google shuts down internal Stadia game studio

Google will no longer invest in developing own games for the Stadia service.

Google changes strategy for its Stadia gaming platform (REUTERS)

Google on Monday said it is shutting down its in-house game development division for Stadia gaming platform. The move is aimed at channelising focus on bolstering Stadia for its industry partners instead of developing content from its internal development team SG&E.

“Creating best-in-class games from the ground up takes many years and significant investment, and the cost is going up exponentially. Given our focus on building on the proven technology of Stadia as well as deepening our business partnerships, we've decided that we will not be investing further in bringing exclusive content from our internal development team SG&E, beyond any near-term planned games,” said Google in a blog post.

Google clarified that the move does not impact the availability of the new content from third parties to its platform.

Google has also decided to shut down its gaming studios in Los Angeles and Montreal. The company said that most of the members of SG&E would be moving on to new roles. Jade Raymond, who led the Stadia gaming studios, will be leaving the company.

Google had launched Stadia, a cloud-based gaming platform, in 2019. The platform has gradually gained traction as the content availability became diverse. Availability on newer hardware platforms also helped the platform. Stadia, just like other gaming platforms, registered a surge in users in the last few months after the company announced the extension of two months of free access to its premium version.