According to a new report, Google seems to try to save what is left of the failed Google Stadia gaming platform, and the rebranding might be a way to go. Immediately called Google Stream, the company may focus on the white label offer that will utilize Stadia software without connecting it directly with Google. It seems that Google can work on such agreements with Peloton, Capcom, and Bungie, even if the rumors are true, there may be more brands involved.
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Business Insider reported that Google Stadia did not fulfill its objectives to reach 1 million active monthly users at the end of 2020. It was not even close – Stadia more than 25% of the sign. Google employees who are not named are quoted as say that there is a big problem with retention players, implying that users do not keep subscribing long enough to make profitable stadia.
Google Stadia initially showed many promises. Made as a gaming cloud service, Stadia allows its customers to play any game from the catalog without requiring high-end hardware. This game streams directly to the device. Users can subscribe to the Pro Stadia to access the catalog or buy a game directly and play it without downloading. Even though this sounded good on paper, in practice, the Stadia failed to attract the attention expected by Google.
There is no Blockbusters for Google Stadia?
Promising as happened, according to Business Insider, Google seems to have given up on expanding the Stadia as a consumer platform. That does not mean that it will be fully closed. So far, even though Google has turned off the internal Stadia game studio (formerly known as Stadia Games & Entertainment), the company plans to continue to add the current game catalog – but will not try to provide the best and most expensive titles available on the market way of steam and other platforms Who is trying to do.
Patrick Seybold, a spokesperson for Google, said in Business Insider: “We are still focused on bringing great games to Stadia in 2022. With 200+ titles currently available, we hope to have 100+ other games that are added to the platform This year.” It implies that there are more will come for the platform, but the sources in clarifying that this will not be a multi-million dollar offer for AAA Blockbuster games. Instead, Google can focus on adding a stable independent title stream that should not be charged as much as possible.
In the past, Google was not afraid to spend money on the new game title. It spends a large amount of money, in tens of millions of dollars, to secure the game like the Red Dead Redemption 2. However, in the previous year, it has not been mentioned about the new blockbuster that comes to the platform.
The consumer platform has been left behind
Seybold also overall suggested that the company may have changed its focus to work directly with brands instead of expanding Google Stadia. He talked about Google’s partnership with AT & T and Batman distribution: Arkham Knight which was part of the agreement. Whether Google intends one day to turn off the stadia completely or not, the source in revealed that the Stadia Division experienced many changes over the past year.
The Stadia team was moved to work directly under the subscription service department. One Google employee estimates that only about 20% of the focus of the remaining teams in the future of the consumer platform, while the rest of the Stadia team can work on the white label offer. It makes sense: Google might fail to secure a stable customer base, but the technology behind the Stadia does have many things to offer, and the company seems to want to save it.
Google has taken steps to spread Stadia technology by means of B2B. In 2021, Google attacked the agreement with Peloton, planning to provide a game play experience to Peloton exercise bikes. One such game has been released in a closed demo around the end of 2021, titled “Lanebreak.”