One of the main issues that worked against Stadia from the jump was Google’s failure to secure blockbuster exclusives for the cloud gaming service, which will shut down in January. Sure, people were able to play Red Dead Redemption 2, Cyberpunk 2077, and Destiny 2 on the platform, but they’re all available elsewhere. As a result, Google may have turned down an opportunity to have an exclusive title from one of the biggest names in the game.
According to 9to5 Google, at one point Hideo Kojima was working on a Stadia-only follow-up to Death Stranding, which debuted on PlayStation in 2019 and later came to PC. Death Stranding has some asynchronous multiplayer elements. Other players may be able to use stairs, roads, and other elements you place in the world, for example. However, the planned follow-up was said to be an entirely single-player game, which may have been the reason Google canceled the project.
According to the report, Google retained the game, which was described as an episodic horror title, after seeing early mockups in 2020. Stadia VP and General Manager Phil Harrison is said to have made the decision end to kill the project. For what it’s worth, in a May 2020 interview, Kojima claimed that one of his projects had recently been canceled.
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Google apparently abandoned the project in the belief that there was no longer a market for single-player games. Notably, CD Projekt Red just announced that Cyberpunk 2077 (which, again, launched on Stadia) has already sold 20 million copies, less than two years after its tumultuous debut. By mid-2021, Death Stranding itself had sold over 5 million copies.
The lack of big exclusives is far from the only problem that led to Stadia’s downfall. A questionable business model and seemingly rushed launch didn’t help, nor did Google’s reputation for mercilessly killing its own products. While Stadia has excellent game streaming technology and some passionate fans, it never quite took off the way Google hoped. The company will shut down the platform on January 18 and refund all hardware and software purchases (except Pro subscriptions). Ubisoft is working on a way to give people who have purchased their games on Stadia access to PC versions.
The news of Stadia’s demise blindsided developers, from giants like Destiny 2 studio Bungie to indie studios whose titles were supposed to hit the now-shuttered Stadia store in the coming weeks. As Axios points out, it’s unclear whether Google has a broad plan to reimburse studios for the costs they hoped to recoup after releasing their games on Stadia. There are also concerns about what Stadia’s shutdown means for the game’s preservation. While Google didn’t secure the AAA exclusives, Stadia has some indie games that aren’t available anywhere else.
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Meanwhile, some are asking Google to unlock the Stadia controller’s Bluetooth features. The argument is that if people can more easily use the controller on other platforms, the gamepad is less likely to become e-waste. The controller connects directly to WiFi for Stadia games to minimize lag. You can also connect it to devices with a USB-C cable.
As for Kojima, he has a Death Stranding sequel in the works, according to the game’s star Norman Reedus. It also emerged in June that Kojima has teamed up with Xbox Game Studios for his next title. This game will be powered by Microsoft cloud technology.
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