Focusing on Stadia’s future as a platform, and winding down SG&E

Phil Harrison, VP Google Stadia, writes: "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. With the increased focus on using our technology platform for industry partners, Jade Raymond has decided to leave Google to pursue other opportunities. We greatly appreciate Jade's contribution to Stadia and wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors. Over the coming months, most of the SG&E team will be moving on to new roles. We’re committed to working with this talented team to find new roles and support them."

[RazzerRedux]

Another one for the Google graveyard:

https://www.wordstream.com/...

[SullysCigar]

If only Google itself would make it's way to it's graveyard..

[MasterChief3624]

@utopiancat

Google's search engine is really good, but I have a really hard time finding articles about things from years ago. Do you have any tips on that? Like if I want to look up the rumors of a certain movie before it had come out, how would I go about querying it?

It's especially frustrating when something comes out that has the same name as another. The first thing usually is much harder to find stuff on, depending on how popular it was prior.

[Mr Logic]

@MasterChief

http://letmegooglethat.com/...

[crazyCoconuts]

I'd land somewhere in the middle on this - I'd like them to exist but not as powerful as they are now. They've come a long way since their "do no evil" days, and now more than ever we're seeing how much control big tech has and how willing they are to use it. We have the ability to decentralize and federate more with technology and i hope we see a trend to do that.

[MasterChief3624]

@Mr Logic

God it is insufferable when people just send a link to that service. A lot of the time, I don't know the dates that I'm looking for. Especially the farther back something is, it's harder to remember what date it may have been written.

[Bobertt]

@utopiancat Google going under doesn't remove their tech they get sold to someone else. Gmail is just like any other email, there are google doc alternatives, and modern Youtube would not have gotten as big as it did if they pulled what they do now back in the early days. Google's search algorithms are worse than ever, back in the day you could search for something and you would get it on the first page and going past the 1st page was a joke about porn, but regularly now i don't fine what i look for on the first page because google pushes websites they want to the top and bury the rest. There was an article speaking about how while the internet has gotten bigger it has become more limited because back in the day there were dozens of websites that people spent their time on but now there are a much smaller number because of the search engines limiting competition. Google today is not the Google from back in the day. Youtube got big because it was open, not censored or full of ads. Dailymotion was started the same time as Youtube and in the start they were about the same popularity but dailymotion put ads so people went with youtube. But after cornering the market Google started buying out any competitors before they could get big so they could put ads. If youtube goes down one of those companies that got held back will take it's place.

[TheGreatGazoo30]

@utopiancat

LOL on Google Docs being best in class haha. Next you'll say Google sheets is better than Excel. As for Gmail...it was best in class in the early 2000s, now it's the same as the rest and a bit of a hot mess. If you work for a living, Outlook is light years ahead of Gmail.

[drizzom]

@utopiancat

Wish they wouldn't datamine our lives so hard.

[gamer7804]

Going to agree with utopian here. In by no means a google fan but less options are worse. Look at Twitter and Facebook , there are no real competitors so everyone is stuck with with them. Now if there were more good options to YouTube then maybe

[UltraNova]

Another one bites the dust.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

MS was worried about nothing this whole time it seems. Amazon needs to come right but I don't think they will unfortunately.

[Zhipp]

@Angelic
Well, to be fair Stadia may not have died as quickly as it did if MS (and Sony, to an extent) weren't already offering superior streaming services.

[Zeref]

@AngelicIceDiamond

It's not over yet, they're just pivoting right now. MS should definitely still be on their toes.

[Mr_Writer85]

@zhipp

"offering superior streaming services."

In your opinion, I mean I have used Stadia, and it works well, and the best thing about it is that it works in Chrome.

Something you can't do on Xcloud and PSNow.

[UltraNova]

I don't get it tbh. They have people in charge who know the gaming biz why not fix their broken model first and then start axing studios/staff?

[MasterChief3624]

The copyright says 2013, and I'm sure there's been even more stuff since then. I thought Google Glass was a failure, but I heard that it is still being used in an industrial capacity as opposed to a consumer one?

[Omegasyde]

Alternative link

https://killedbygoogle.com/

[marioJP87]

They forgot google+
🤣😂

[TGGJustin]

Big surprise. What a dumb idea it was to launch a platform and then open studios to make games for it. They should've had those studios opened and had launch games. You can't expect people to buy in to your platform when it's obvious your not bought into it as the company selling it.

On another not poor Jade Raymond. She hasn't done anything since leaving Ubisoft all them years ago. She went to EA only to have that studio shut down and then to Google to have them shut down her studio.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

I feel Bad for Jade. She left pretty quickly she doesn't want to go down with with Stadia.

[NealGamby]

I don't feel bad for her. Apparently, she makes horrible decisions. Who in their right mind didn't foresee this?
I mean, god d**mned Ray Charles could've seen this coming!?

[frostypants]

Nah. She'll be offered a new job almost immediately if she needs it.

[Stanjara]

She is just a pretty face for the...any team that she does. Took the money...contract...what did she do at EA? Then took another contract...what did she do at Stadia? Went to work. What did she do at Viceral? Went to work.
I only know that she did something for Assassin's creed but after that...?
Maybe I don't get it...that all corp thing but those are the people who brought us Cyberpunk.
We don't need this...this is too complicated...yeah...this would take another year...no, no, no, no...yes release it.

[StoneyYoshi]

I think they should have started with how it will be now. No studios under their belt until the service grows so they can afford to pay for the studios they want. This is just another overpromised service from Phil Harrison just like PS Home was. Theres a reason he keeps bouncing around to every gaming company. I think Phil will be out of the picture in the next year or two.

[N2NOther]

Her studio at EA is still very much open. They just shipped Star Wars Squadrons. If you're referring to Visceral, she was put in charge of it, yes, but the writing was very much on the wall for them once Dead Space 3 failed, which she wasn't at all involved with.

[Nyxus]

And there goes Jade Raymond... well, can't say I'm shocked that this system never got off the ground. Can't say I'm sad either.

[Neonridr]

This doesn't mean Stadia is going anywhere, just that they won't be making games themselves for it. It'll just become a 3rd party delivery service from now on. I don't see it lasting.

[Gwiz]

I agree Stadia isn't going anywhere.

That also works to other way. " Where is he GOOIINNGG?? NOOOWHEEREEEE "

[LucasRuinedChildhood]

Your comment strangely reminded me of the best scene in the 90s Body Snatchers movie.

"Where you gonna go? Where you gonna run? Where you gonna hide? Nowhere. Because there's no one, like you, left."

Oh yeah, and Stadia's future is probably darker than that quote. haha. It's probably, just about, making enough money to justify its existence for now though

[MasterChief3624]

It's a very concerning harbinger of the future. It feels like the first step in an ultimate phasing out of the entire product.

[-Foxtrot]

"Jade Raymond, the veteran producer who helped build Assassin’s Creed for Ubisoft and moved on to EA several years ago before leaving to run game creation at Stadia, is exiting the company, according to Google"

I f****** knew this would happen

I feel bad but why jump ship to Google for Stadia

[ABizzel1]

$$$$$$

If you go from making $100,000 to a job where you get a new level of leadership experience and anywhere from 2x - 5x the salary you were making previously, in an industry where career changes are constant, why wouldn't you. If Stadia became a hit that's a huge boost to your resume and career development, if it fails so what you made significantly more than your old job, you already have the experience to go back to a similar role with nearly any company in the industry, and now you have a new level of leadership under your resume that can even move you into a Chief position at Ubisoft if you go back.

That's the business world, how you make connections, and how you move further along in your career. If most of you are still in the same job you've been doing since you signed up on n4g, and you have greater goals in life, then you're doing it wrong. If you're happy where you are then that's fine too.

[StoneyYoshi]

Wise words ABizzle1! Over the last 10 years since my N4G account creation, I've gone from: US Army, to ice cream shop worker, to industrial union painter working in NASA, to an express oil change shop which I worked my way up to General Manager, and I am now happy almost 2 years in working in IT working my way up the ladder and its going great!

[LucasRuinedChildhood]

@StoneyYoshi

Damn, that's a lot of different roles. Sounds like your wages have increased a lot in the last few years

[ABizzel1]

Congrats Stoney. Wishing you more future success.

[-Foxtrot]

Money is money but whats the point moving when you must have known it was going to be a sinking ship going off Googles track record with the amount of things they've killed off and also how streaming is perceived generally amongst the gaming audience.

Seems like less hassle to just stay put or look at other options, I mean do we even know if she moved location for this job?

[ABizzel1]

@Foxtrot

Money is money, but leadership development is also a huge role in growing your career and getting to a position that not only pays more money, but gives you the foundation you need to be in "golden positions".

Less hassle is exactly how people end up at dead-end jobs making minimum wage because they don't know any better, don't expect any better, and don't apply themselves or risk anything to attempt to do and learn better.

Google could drop 100 projects, but at the end of the day they are a multi-billion dollar company if not multi-trillion dollar company, so if they invest in something there is money to be made whether the project is scrapped, launches and fails, or best case scenario launches and succeeds.

The idea of game streaming isn't to get people who buy consoles and gaming PCs to play games on the go. It is to provide a way for people who live in markets where those items are completely out of their budget, and/or have laws prohibiting the selling of said hardware. These streaming platforms aren't looking at the 200 million console gamers, they are looking at the 1 billion mobile gamers, and that's what the investment is for.

Google is also a company that has a fiber internet service to provide the proper connection needed to stream games at home, why they didn't bundle their services together baffles me to this day. Google Fiber, Google or YouTube TV, and Stadia should have been bundled for like $150 is crazy.

But regardless of what was going to happen to Stadia, moving from an Executive Producer role from Ubisoft and EA to the Vice President of Google's Gaming division is a career gold mine. If she decides to go back to EA, Ubisoft, or anywhere else what do you think negotiations look like for her coming from that role.

She got to launch a brand new product and service globally from the VP level, instead of overseeing a project from the Executive Producer level. She has now at least doubled if not tripled or quadrupled her pay from EP.

It's the same thing is taking a lateral move, a company I worked for was struggling in the department I worked in, and I saw the signs that we were unlikely to keep our positions, so I applied and made a lateral move to another department which paid me less because I no longer was making commission, and 3 months later everyone in that department was laid off an let go, meanwhile I still have my job all my experience in sales, and corporate experience as well, and within a year I'm now leading my own team in business sales while many of them have returned to retail stores, customer care, and are now applying to work in as a business rep under me.

If you are comfortable where you are that's fine, but you can't move forward in your career by sitting in the same position hoping management will take notice and give you a position because of your effort. That's clown talk.
https://imgur.com/gallery/n...

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Phil Harrison probably left also. I wonder where he'll end up. Guarantee you it won't be with Sony or MS considering he was part of the botched the launches of ps3 and x1.

He's going to Amazon next.

[TGGJustin]

No he's still there. He gets to keep his job while 100+ others lose theirs.

[Christopher]

He's the one who wrote the announcement.

[Omegasyde]

Yes but it seems like foreshadowing of things to come.

[lodossrage]

lol how can you say Phil Harrison left when he's the one putting this statement out in the first place?

People need to read past headlines around here

[Atticus_finch]

Don't celebrate too soon. I don't believe Stadia is going anywhere.

[BattleCat]

Phil was right, Google is their rival :p

[Unknown_Gamer5794]

In more ways than one. They even chose a conceited Phil who likes the spotlight to be the Stadia spokesperson. Of course, this industry only has room for one such Phil.

[RememberThe357]

Only thought I had after hearing about this is what'll happen to Shannon Studstill? Sony should bring her back to start a new studio. She's a boss.

[Christopher]

I can imagine SMS hiring her back as Barlog is looking to take a break it seems.

[RememberThe357]

I hope not. He's a great story teller. Maybe take a bit off his plate and let him have his family time. Might not be possible though. And if the studio is actually working on a new IP along side GOW having two leads isn't a bad idea. I think ND does that. Her and Yumi have worked together for along time and their worst game was still really good. Deadly combination.

[UltraNova]

She belongs with Sony, that much is true if you happen to follow her career there. And I agree with Remember, they should definitely give her own studio and free rain over any projects. Shannon is a rare example of a visionary and management done right in the gaming biz.

Sony is crazy if they let her slip, again.

[Elda]

The streaming platform is next.

[isarai]

Yup, only idiots betted on that horse

[Orchard]

This surprises nobody.

[XxINFERNUSxX]

I already knew this shit was going to fail right from the start. There was no need for this crap at all.

[MetroidFREAK21]

Lol

[Viking_mo]

Them closing their first studios. It was bound to happen. Out of curiosity, did Jade Raymond ever make any other games? I feel like she just moves from one studio to another

[OB1Biker]

She is kind of jaded.

[Profchaos]

Ouch so they just dropped first party support for their own platform after zero releases or at least zero noteworthy ones.

Typical google they didn't see a giant profit in the first few months on an unproven service so they started silently killing it off they have a long track record of killing off unprofitable services I wouldn't trust them to deliver anything long term. I certainly wouldn't invest my money in the stadia ecosystem and expect to play games on it in a year or two.

[Cyb3r]

So glad I stuck with my Xbox and Playstation consoles

[Einhander1971]

Face it Stadia is one big epic fail, we all new it. Obviously the donuts at Google who get paid shit loads didn't. Funny really.

[majiebeast]

Now if microsoft left the industry that would be even better news.

[ocelot07]

Why? As much as the Xbox brand is dead to me. I like there Forza games. Plus we need them to keep Sony on their toes. If no Microsoft then Sony won't feel the need to put as much focus into first party titlea and would just be happy to collect ps+ and now subs and just let EA and Activision to fart out COD and FIFA each year.

[Viking_mo]

Well actually the Bethesda buy isn't official yet. Not sure many know but Europe law has to approve the buy cause Arkhane Studio is a France based. They can deny the purchase if they see Microsoft monopolising the industry which they kinda did confirm saying they're planning a next publisher buy

[Orchard]

Competition is good. It encourages pricing to stay low/competitive, and encourages innovation, for both hardware and software.

[spwittbold]

Imagine how awesome it'd be. We'd be stuck with the Dogshit that was the PS3 and absolute garbage online systems.

[derek]

@majiebeast we can only hope. I have always believed a big fat bloated company like Microsoft with a history of poor taste and anti competitive practices was bad for gaming. You see it in that stunt with gold subscriptions they tried to pull, or the drm fiasco, Microsoft can be trusted to do the wrong thing.

[Rachel_Alucard]

I and everyone else said this exact thing from the get go, yet you had outright shills just insisting it was good and wouldn't die anytime soon. What a joke.

[ApocalypseShadow]

As I suspected. No 1st party games, no ownership. But supposedly, is better than consoles. /S

NO BUY. Just wasting gamer's time and money.

[Knightofelemia]

A magazine rack of games that Stadia offers or a library of games Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft offer personally I like the library more over a magazine rack of games. Google should just focus more on their tablets, nest hub, Pixel phones, even when you give it away for free it all comes down to the one choice a library of games or a magazine rack of games.

[DaniMacYo]

Thank you Google for showing us that streaming video games is not yet the right move nor is it viable. I hope Sony and Microsoft don’t go this route some day. It’s laggy as F sometimes just online like we already do. Streaming a game?! forget it. I called this BS before it even launched like many others did. The input lag is ridiculously high it’s not the way to game.

[TheGreatGazoo30]

Didn't everyone except the most loyal Google fans see this happening 2 seconds after they made the announcement of Stadia? I never understood how it had a chance to succeed when MS has Xcloud bundled with GamePass and had much larger library. Other than the "I hate Microsoft because they're evil" people I didn't know who would use Stadia.

[Unknown_Gamer5794]

Stadia is still a thing? It's been awhile since I've heard any news about it.

[Limitedtimestruggle]

Disaster since day one.

[Ashunderfire86]

Let’s be honest X Cloud killed Stadia! Plus Stadia was already dead on arrival.

[derek]

Remember folks this is the future or so says the fake journalists who have been telling us for the last 2 years. They said Google/Amazon & Microsoft would simply dominate the industry with their big bank accounts. Where are all those same fake journalists now? All that is left to occur is the inevitable abandoning of stadia which most could see coming a mile away.

[GordyNYC]

They should have made it free until they got the user base.

[drizzom]

What future?

[S2Killinit]

I swear if they start cannibalizing on the industry I would be so upset. Please please please dont go spend money to keep games exclusive to Stadia when you are not going to be contributing by making your own games. PLEASE dont do that.

[Imortus_san]

That was fast, clossing the internal development.

[akaFullMetal]

Good luck.

[Rocosaurus]

A shame. Google just doesn't seem to have any follow through. They are giving up way to easily.