(Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s Google said on Monday it would stop in-house game development for Stadia, making the cloud-based game streaming service completely dependent on titles from other game developers and publishers.
Stadia launched in 2019 along with an in-house game development unit expected to create titles for the platform.
The company said Monday it was discontinuing the device due to the high costs involved in developing games that attract users.
“It takes many years and significant investment to get the best games from scratch, and costs are increasing exponentially,” Phil Harrison, vice president and general manager of Google Stadia, said in a blog post. (bit.ly/2YDcfqQ)
Harrison also said Jade Raymond, head of Google’s Stadia Games and Entertainment, would be leaving the company to pursue other opportunities.
Stadia saw an increase in user numbers last year after the tech giant gave free access to its premium version for two months to gamers hiding at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reporting by Akanksha Rana and Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni