Read from Business Insider and Kotaku:
Google Stadia hasn’t been a huge success. One big reason is the lack of games. And it seems the reason Stadia’s library of software is so small is that Google isn’t willing to spend the money to get more games on the platform.
Google says another 120 games are scheduled to hit Stadia this year, including some big upcoming blockbusters like “DOOM Eternal” and “Cyberpunk 2077.”
But where are the dozens of indie hits that helped bolster the libraries of Sony’s PlayStation 4, Microsoft’s Xbox One, and Nintendo’s Switch? Where are the games like “Bloodstained,” “Shovel Knight,” “Dead Cells,” and “Untitled Goose Game” – the blockbuster indie games that sell millions of copies and inspire sequels?
These games have become critical to the success of any new game platform, yet, of the 28 games currently available on Stadia, just four fall into the indie category.
“We were approached by the Stadia team,” one prominent indie developer told me. “Usually with that kind of thing, they lead with some kind of offer that would give you an incentive to go with them.” But the incentive “was kind of non-existent,” they said. “That’s the short of it.”
It’s a statement we heard echoed by several prominent indie developers and two publishing executives we spoke with for this piece.
“It’s that there isn’t enough money there,” one of the publishing executives we spoke with said. The offer was apparently “so low that it wasn’t even part of the conversation.”
The “incentive” isn’t solely financial, but it’s the main part of the equation.
“When we’re looking at these types of deals,” another prominent indie developer said, “We’re looking at ‘Is this enough money where we have the resources to make what we want, or is this an exclusivity deal that gives us security?'” they said.
Each of the people we spoke with, who asked to be granted anonymity due to ongoing employment in the video game industry, echoed this sentiment – and said Google simply wasn’t offering enough money, in addition to several other concerns.
“There are platforms you want to be on because they have an audience and you want to reach that audience,” one developer said. “That’s what Steam is, or that’s what [Nintendo] Switch is. They have big groups on their platforms, and you want to be with those groups so they can play your games.”
But Stadia doesn’t have a large audience to reach – at least not yet – so Google must create that incentive for developers. And the people we spoke with said, outside of money, there wasn’t much reason to put their games on Stadia.
“If you could see yourself getting into a long term relationship with Google?” one developer said. “But with Google’s history, I don’t even know if they’re working on Stadia in a year. That wouldn’t be something crazy that Google does. It’s within their track record.”
This concern – that Google might just give up on Stadia at some point and kill the service, as it has done with so many other services over the years – was repeatedly brought up, unprompted, by every person we spoke with for this piece.
The absence of these games at the launch of Stadia last November, and their continued absence in the ensuing months, speaks to Google’s inability to attract developers ahead of launch.
“It wasn’t just a financial thing,” one developer told me who decided not to publish on Stadia. “At the end of the day, I’m asking the question, ‘Why would I do this?’ And there was no positive reason to move forward. There wasn’t really anything to want us to get in the door other than to be the first on the platform.”
Google Stadia hasn’t been a huge success. One big reason is the lack of games. And it seems the reason Stadia’s library of software is so small is that Google isn’t willing to spend the money to get more games on the platform.
Google says another 120 games are scheduled to hit Stadia this year, including some big upcoming blockbusters like “DOOM Eternal” and “Cyberpunk 2077.”
But where are the dozens of indie hits that helped bolster the libraries of Sony’s PlayStation 4, Microsoft’s Xbox One, and Nintendo’s Switch? Where are the games like “Bloodstained,” “Shovel Knight,” “Dead Cells,” and “Untitled Goose Game” – the blockbuster indie games that sell millions of copies and inspire sequels?
These games have become critical to the success of any new game platform, yet, of the 28 games currently available on Stadia, just four fall into the indie category.
“We were approached by the Stadia team,” one prominent indie developer told me. “Usually with that kind of thing, they lead with some kind of offer that would give you an incentive to go with them.” But the incentive “was kind of non-existent,” they said. “That’s the short of it.”
It’s a statement we heard echoed by several prominent indie developers and two publishing executives we spoke with for this piece.
“It’s that there isn’t enough money there,” one of the publishing executives we spoke with said. The offer was apparently “so low that it wasn’t even part of the conversation.”
The “incentive” isn’t solely financial, but it’s the main part of the equation.
“When we’re looking at these types of deals,” another prominent indie developer said, “We’re looking at ‘Is this enough money where we have the resources to make what we want, or is this an exclusivity deal that gives us security?'” they said.
Each of the people we spoke with, who asked to be granted anonymity due to ongoing employment in the video game industry, echoed this sentiment – and said Google simply wasn’t offering enough money, in addition to several other concerns.
“There are platforms you want to be on because they have an audience and you want to reach that audience,” one developer said. “That’s what Steam is, or that’s what [Nintendo] Switch is. They have big groups on their platforms, and you want to be with those groups so they can play your games.”
But Stadia doesn’t have a large audience to reach – at least not yet – so Google must create that incentive for developers. And the people we spoke with said, outside of money, there wasn’t much reason to put their games on Stadia.
“If you could see yourself getting into a long term relationship with Google?” one developer said. “But with Google’s history, I don’t even know if they’re working on Stadia in a year. That wouldn’t be something crazy that Google does. It’s within their track record.”
This concern – that Google might just give up on Stadia at some point and kill the service, as it has done with so many other services over the years – was repeatedly brought up, unprompted, by every person we spoke with for this piece.
The absence of these games at the launch of Stadia last November, and their continued absence in the ensuing months, speaks to Google’s inability to attract developers ahead of launch.
“It wasn’t just a financial thing,” one developer told me who decided not to publish on Stadia. “At the end of the day, I’m asking the question, ‘Why would I do this?’ And there was no positive reason to move forward. There wasn’t really anything to want us to get in the door other than to be the first on the platform.”
