Here is an announcement that nobody expected tonight, but which has just had the effect of a bomb: Google has indeed just announced the closure of its two studios in charge of developing exclusive titles for Stadia. It was the Kotaku site which first reported the information, before being confirmed within the hour by Phil Harrison in person, the President of Stadia, who also crackeda long message on the official blog. A press release in which we learn that the web giant gives up investing more in Stadia Games & Entertainment, yet headed by Jade Raymond, the former producer of Assassin’s Creed games who also took a tour of Electronic Arts before get debauched by Google. Obviously, such a closure leads to the departure of Jade Raymond who ultimately did not have time to show her artistic talent and what she was capable of. The ex-prodigy of Ubisoft is obviously not the only one to lose his job since 150 employees are affected by this restructuring, even if Phil Harrison that each of them will be affected in other areas of the company.
If the basic message is negative, Phil Harrison tempers the announcement by specifying that Stadia’s technology is both recognized and a real success (which is also true), he also explains that the platform will continue to endure and that new games are planned, coming from different studios and other third-party publishers. More surprisingly, no changes in the business model or subscriptions are expected, but that Stadia will continue to help and support developers who wish to take advantage of the now well-established technology. For Phil Harrison, getting rid of his studios but keeping the same policy is a lasting and lasting solution, but for the man who was behind the failed launches of the PS3 and Xbox One, it’s pretty funny.
