Google’s cloud gaming platform has faced a fight to survive among a tough field of players. Mark Billen from Broadband.co.uk examines the health of Stadia today and what its future may hold.
When Google first launched its Stadia service in November 2019, it’s safe to say that eyebrows were raised.
The global giant, a leader in web search and services, was setting its powerful sights on gaming. Stadia would be called a “game-changer” and a revolutionary way to stream top titles on demand. All players needed was a broadband connection.
Today Stadia is fast approaching 3 years old and, well, let’s say that promise hasn’t quite been fulfilled.
Where is Stadia, and what went wrong?
Breaking into a fiercely competitive video games industry was always going to be tough, even for the world’s 4th most valuable company.
The established market leaders of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo were readying new console launches around Stadia’s introduction. Convincing players that Google’s “Netflix for games” was a genuine PlayStation or Xbox alternative was tricky.
But fast-forward to 2022 and Stadia, while on shaky ground, IS still alive. Rumours of pending closure are premature but not totally unfounded given its history.
Has Google stopped development on the Stadia product?
Just over a year after launching, Google announced that its game development studio was shutting down.
This closure of its Stadia Games and Entertainment studios was a huge blow and effectively ended the likelihood of new, exclusive titles for the platform. Such a risky move would cut massive development costs but dent excitement and trust around the product.
However, all is not lost. Stadia’s commitment to third-party licenses continues with over 100 games scheduled to be added this year.
How many players are using Stadia?
This is a tough question to answer precisely. Google isn’t publishing official Stadia subscription numbers which might tell a story in itself.
Sources have estimated a monthly user base of 2 million as of first quarter 2022. While this is fairly strong for a new cloud gaming platform, competition is fierce from leading rivals:
- Nvidia GeForce NOW: 12-14 million active users.
- Xbox Cloud Gaming: Over 10 million reported users.
- PlayStation NOW: 2 million active users.
If Stadia’s audience numbers are accurate, the service can at least be encouraged by comparisons with PlayStation.
However, Sony remains better positioned to increase share in a market that also welcomed Amazon Luna in March.
Will Google continue to run Stadia?
Many have speculated if Stadia isn’t living up to Google’s own expectations, then it could be game over. The company does have a reputation, fair or not, for closing unsuccessful services or products with little warning.
However, it could be a PR crisis to close the platform, especially as users would lose access to their library of games. It appears instead that Google will change the business model to avoid such drastic action.
Reports claim Google are to “white-label” the service as a rebranded Google Stream product. In strategic partnerships, companies like Bungie, Capcom and Peloton will license the same Stadia technology to stream their own on-demand services.
In summary, where does Stadia stand?
One thing is for sure, cloud gaming will continue to grow. The market is forecasted to expand by over 64% to be worth $14bn+ globally by 2027.
However, it’s unlikely Stadia can position itself at the forefront unless Google reinvests heavily and does a u-turn on developing in-house exclusives.
If it can’t produce unique games by partnering with external studios, players should only expect a slow drip-feed of licensed titles and general platform updates.
Future fortunes
With expectations lowered, Stadia subscribers can still enjoy what’s available. More discerning, experienced gamers will probably feel far better served by GeForce Now and Xbox – with Amazon Luna one to watch.
Aside from being backed by web companies affiliated with gaming, Amazon Luna and Stadia share similar subscription models and visibility.
Contrasting the strategy and future fortunes of both services will be interesting to monitor over the coming years.
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