Stadia Developers Blindsided By Shutdown:
Last week we noted how Google's streaming game service, Stadia, is finally being shut down. Google had initially tried deny the obvious last July when rumors began circulating that the company was preparing its exit strategy. This denial apparently resulted in many of the service's own developers being left in the dark, given they were extremely surprised when the shutdown was actually announced.
[...] Several developers say they were having normal conversations with Google as recently as last week, suggesting that the shutdown wasn't particularly well coordinated. Developers who were working their game for other platforms can recoup costs, but several say they're dealing with fairly significant losses since their games will only have a few month shelf life (Stadia formally shuts down January 18).
[...] While it's great that Google is giving refunds for those who bought the hardware and games through the Google and Google Play stores, that Google couldn't be bothered to inform its own developers that it was shutting the project down says plenty about why the project is shutting down.
Previously: Google Kills Stadia
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Google will shut down its Stadia cloud game service on January 18, 2023. All Stadia hardware and software purchases made through Google will be refunded:
Stadia's technology will live on as a Google Cloud product called "Immersive Stream for Games." Google has made some headway pitching the feature as a way to run games on underpowered devices, like Peloton fitness equipment.
Google Stadia never lived up to its initial promise. The service, which ran a game in the cloud and sent each individual frame of video down to your computer or phone, was pitched as a gaming platform that would benefit from Google's worldwide scale and streaming expertise. While it was a trailblazing service, competitors quickly popped up with better scale, better hardware, better relationships with developers, and better games. The service didn't take off immediately and reportedly undershot Google's estimates by "hundreds of thousands" of users. Google then quickly defunded the division, involving the high-profile closure of its in-house development studio before it could make a single game.
Competitors include Nvidia's GeForce Now, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and Amazon Luna.
See also: Stadia controllers could become e-waste unless Google issues Bluetooth update
Stadia's technology will go on to do greater things, but no one really cares anymore
Stadia died because no one trusts Google
Previously: Google Announces "Stadia" Streaming Game Service
Google Details Pricing, Hardware for Stadia Streaming Game Service
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday October 11 2022, @10:37AM (3 children)
How about they use their AI capabilities to tell them which project should be killed before starting, just so they don't waste the time of those who hoped that Google would stick to something different from search and Android.
Oh, wait, their AI division was set up in 2017 [wikipedia.org]. How long until they kill it too?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 3, Funny) by Opportunist on Tuesday October 11 2022, @11:10AM (2 children)
2017? It's a miracle it still exists, are you sure it really does and isn't just on life support?
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday October 11 2022, @01:45PM
I'm pretty sure they've not merged it with a cyborg, so no life support needed. Still, they may pull the plug anyway. Anyone know, if it's ethical to remove power from a semi-human, semi-sentient AI cyborg? Or maybe just "resistance is futile"?
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by higuita on Tuesday October 11 2022, @03:03PM
it was covid fault... there were too many remote meetings for people to actually kill google ai ...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 11 2022, @07:38PM
It is naive to expect better from them
(Score: 1) by Coligny on Wednesday October 12 2022, @02:21AM
“Do no evil…”
Good times good times…
(Score: 2) by darkfeline on Wednesday October 12 2022, @02:53AM (1 child)
What's the alternative? The moment the shutdown is announced internally, it would have been immediately leaked.
Join the SDF Public Access UNIX System today!
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bobthecimmerian on Wednesday October 12 2022, @11:49AM
Google (Alphabet) makes 70 billion in profit per year. They can afford to support unprofitable projects for billions per year indefinitely without harming total performance. There was no hard choice, they could have pledged ten years to Stadia. I see only two possibilities.