Former Stadia devs say Google pulled plug due to investment costs

It has been months since Google shut down its internal Stadia game development studios and publishing branch. As time goes on, we're learning more about why Google threw in the towel so soon, and it looks like rising game development costs had a lot to do with it.

In preparation for Stadia's launch, Google acquired several game studios, including Typhoon Studios, the developer behind Journey to the Savage Planet. After Stadia pulled the plug on game development, Typhoon was one of the studios to be shut down. Now, the founders of Typhoon Studios, Alex Hutchinson and Reid Schneider, have formed a new studio, and have opened up a bit on what went on behind the scenes at Stadia.

As reported by Gamasutra, Hutchinson said: “I think realized that content is scary and risky and expensive and takes lots of trust in people, and it just wasn’t their core business”. Schneider added: “In my honest opinion, I think it just came down to the level of investment required to reach scale.”

“During our time there we also Microsoft acquire Bethesda for around $7 billion, and Amazon’s continued challenges in launching top titles. It's not hard to imagine why a company as successful as Google would reconsider its original planning with forces like that in the world.”

Google shut down Stadia Games and Publishing in January this year. Since then, we've seen several notable industry vets go on to form new studios. Jade Raymond has formed a new company, which already has a partnership in place with PlayStation, and now the former Typhoon Studios founders have launched Raccoon Logic and re-purchased the rights to Journey to the Savage Planet.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Given that Google didn't get to the point of announcing any exclusives for Stadia, it seems clear that the time and investment required for game development caught the company off guard.

Become a Patron!