Google reportedly shut down its Stadia studios a week after praising them

Google made the surprise announcement on February 1st that it would be shuttering its in-house Stadia game development studios. But the news wasn’t just a surprise to Stadia customers; it was a bolt from the blue for the Stadia development team, which, just a week prior, had been told that the studios were making “great progress,” according to a report from Kotaku.

“[Stadia Games and Entertainment] has made great progress building a diverse and talented team and establishing a strong lineup of Stadia exclusive games,” said Phil Harrison, a vice president at Google and general manager for Stadia, on January 27th in an email to staff obtained by Kotaku. The email promised more news on the Stadia studios’ strategy and goals for 2021. But...

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