Google has reportedly “deprioritized” the Stadia game streaming platform it launched in 2019.
Insider reports that Google wants to use Stadia’s underlying technologies in a new service called Google Stream that other companies will be able to use to, well, stream games. The company is reportedly looking to form partnerships with Peloton, Capcom, and Bungie for Google Stream; presumably the service would eventually be made available to other companies as well.
Google Stream’s uses would vary based on the partner. Peloton would reportedly use Google’s technology to stream games to its exercise bikes, for example, while Capcom is said to be looking into using the technology to make playable demos for its blockbuster titles available via its website. It’s not clear how Sony’s acquisition of Bungie affects a potential Google partnership.
The decision to focus less on the Stadia platform and more on the game streaming technologies would make sense for two reasons. The first is that Google has a thing for introducing new products, seeing if they catch on, and then abandoning them if they don’t. A website called Killed by Google says that 263 services and features have received this treatment at time of writing.
The second reason is that Google hasn’t really hid the fact that it’s not happy with Stadia’s growth. The company shut down its studios devoted to making original games for the platform in February 2021, and throughout the last year it’s offered free Stadia access to YouTube Premium subscribers, given away hardware, and run other promotions to attract users to the platform.
“While we won’t be commenting on any rumors or speculation regarding other industry partners,” Google said in a statement to Insider, “we are still focused on bringing great games to Stadia in 2022. With 200+ titles currently available, we expect to have another 100+ games added to the platform this year, and currently have 50 games available to claim in Stadia Pro.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean Google plans to devote more of its attention to Stadia moving forward, however, or that it won’t prioritize an offering like Stream instead. The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on its commitment to Stadia moving forward.
