Google is still trying its hardest to make Stadia relevant. Despite Stadia losing 198 siblings (which two months ago sat at 194), Google believes releasing timed exclusives will bolster numbers. And to do that, Stadia has a new studio in Playa Vista, California, dedicated to releasing first-party games.
Back in January of this year, a Google PR person noted that securing multiple titles as timed exclusives will “help the service.” Tagging along with that, folks can expect 120 games to drop throughout 2020 — assuming that PR person’s words hold any weight.
As of today, Google has Jade Raymond — VP and head of Stadia Games and entertainment — writing on blog.google the following information:
“The new Playa Vista studio will focus on delivering exclusive games, using new gameplay mechanics, creative ways to play together and unique interaction models that we’re just starting to explore. While we’re not ready to share specific game plans yet, rest assured we are listening to what gamers want and adding our own Stadia twists to create new IP and experiences.”
Leading this new studio is former SIE Santa Monica Studio head, Shannon Studstill, where she will likely oversee the Californian studio as it churns out first-party titles for the barely breathing Stadia platform.
As a personal note here, I’m not sure how exclusives will help the anti-consumer platform known as Stadia, given that fan interest in it is dwindling, as seen with Destiny 2’s Stadia player base dropping by 58% a month after release.
Additionally, Bellular News did a report on how Google isn’t quite paying developers what they were promised and how the Stadia is basically failing and flopping hard on the market.
Anyway, out of the 120 games coming to Stadia in 2020, more than ten of those titles in the first half of this year will be available as timed-exclusives.
Lastly, back in January, the same Google PR person noted that 2020 is said to be a big year for Stadia. Well, it will be a big year for both Google and Stadia if the latter can survive longer then a year.
(Thanks for the news tip MaverickHL)
