Google announced last week the closure of Google Stadia, which will be final in early 2023. Only 2 years have passed since its launch and Google’s commitment to the world of video games via streaming already has a closing date.
Google Stadia will definitely close its doors in January 2023
Google Stadia promised the development of the best video games on a large scale, with native 4K quality, to play online, through the Internet and with a Chromecast accompanied by wireless control. It sounded interesting, but it ended in failure and today we know that its closure will lead to 150 fired game creators, canceled commercial agreements and the definitive end of the service.
What are the reasons that have led to this closure? They would be the following:
-Commitments acquired: The IT giant had no experience developing triple-A quality games. It lacked the technical teams to deliver on the commitments it made, both to users and developers, and despite attempts, it failed to deliver. development of the established roadmap.
-Difficulties in recruiting staff: The video game industry is extremely competitive, and development teams often don’t release their employees when they are properly trained. For this reason, Google Stadia had problems finding available programmers and designers to face the playable promises that the firm held when presenting the platform.
-Lack of a target audience: In February 2021, the Stadia exclusive game studio closed, and one of the biggest flaws in Google’s proposal was revealed: there was no target audience.
With more than 300 games in the catalog, Stadia offered games from other developers that were already available on other platforms. Not being clear about what type of player it was targeting, Google Stadia gradually began to lose strength and only a few months had passed since its launch.
-Few games: Google Stadia hardly offered anything innovative in the world of video games, but it had the backing of a giant like Google. However, that was not enough and its exclusive games passed without pain or glory. Gylt is perhaps the only one whose name resonates with some users, but the truth is that it did not reach the general public.
-False promises: Google Stadia promised, at its launch conference, the possibility of playing via streaming, in the cloud, with 4K quality. But Google’s servers could never really deliver on the smooth 60fps and the experience ended up being shaky, with skipped frames and debatable video and audio quality.
In short, Google Stadia has failed, but it has served as a kickoff to a model that Nvidia, Nintendo and Xbox perfectly copied: that of buy a game and be able to play it on the TV screen or on another device. This hybrid mode between the console and the various devices will surely be part of the legacy of Google Stadia, which closes its doors although it can always return as a new initiative in the future.
