Where it All Went Wrong for Google Stadia
Play any game, anywhere, with any device! That’s the gamer dream isn’t it? At least that’s what we’re enabling here at YOM. Cloud gaming works to let you do exactly that… until it doesn’t. While this concept is definitely revolutionary, it’s not so easy to put into practice.
Cloud gaming is a relatively new industry with major studios still trying to feel it out and make their mark in the scene. As with any emerging market though, some players eventually have to drop out and nothing better highlights this than the fall of Google Stadia.
One can recall back in late 2019 when Google announced that it was entering the cloud gaming space. With Google Stadia, they promised a new way to play. If you had a TV, phone, tablet or really almost any device, you could access high-quality titles streamed directly from Google’s servers. There was no need to buy the latest Playstation or Xbox nor did you need a powerful PC. Players would save more money by using the “Netflix of gaming”. What could go wrong? Well despite a promising start, Google Stadia shut down in 2023, leaving many questioning how its flame died out so quickly.
A Library without Books
A movie streaming service’s biggest asset would have to be the selection of movies/shows it offers. That’s exactly why people subscribed to begin with — they didn’t want the hassle of obtaining individual titles by themselves. The same concept applied to cloud gaming. If you’re subscribing to a service that lets you play games, there ought to be enough games there to keep you occupied.
One of Stadia’s biggest shortcomings was its game library, though. Initially launching with only 22 games, it would have a hard time competing against already established brands such as Microsoft and Sony. Their focus on newer AAA titles meant a smaller overall selection which disappointed many.
The Allure of Exclusives (or Lack Thereof)
Stadia didn’t just lack a variety of games, they lacked their own. Exclusivity is a powerful tool that game publishers wield against each other to capture large portions of the market. Popular titles exclusive to a console often bring a slew of long-term dedicated gamers. God of War, Marvel’s Spider-man, and The Last of Us each brought more players to the Sony platform. Playstation monopolizes these at launch which gives them an advantage compared to other platforms. Xbox did similar with the Gears of War and Halo franchises. Stadia offered nothing comparable. The company set up and then quickly closed its internal Stadia game development studio in early 2021, destroying hopes for any unique titles. Gamers already invested in consoles or PCs had little reason to switch to Stadia when they couldn’t access unique experiences unavailable elsewhere.
Missing the Target Audience
Google Stadia’s intended audience differed from hardcore gamers. Google aimed at budget-conscious users who wanted a taste of high-end gaming all without buying expensive hardware. They offered a free tier where users could try games without committing to pay. However, this tier offered a limited game selection. Some games even had a trial period that would block a player’s progress after a certain amount of time or reaching a certain point in the game — unless they paid to continue! This almost certainly annoyed casual gamers just looking for a hassle-free gaming experience.
Stadia’s pricing model was another point of contention. They aimed to be the “Netflix of gaming” with a subscription service, but also sold games individually like other platforms. This created a confusing situation for some users unsure of ownership rights. Stadia reserved the right to remove games from the service, meaning users wouldn’t own the games they purchased. This wasn’t ideal for those who wanted to build a permanent library nor was it appealing to those who wanted to save on buying new releases. Furthermore, developers could also have been discouraged from producing games for Stadia since they couldn’t be assured that their titles would always be available to players over time.
Performance
Performance was also subpar compared to what they promised. Google advertised that Stadia could reach 4K resolution on Stadia Pro (1080p for the free tier) with a frame rate of 60 frames per second (FPS). This was often not the case though with many users reporting inconsistencies during their gameplay.
Stadia relied heavily on a strong and stable internet connection. If a user’s internet bandwidth wasn’t sufficient, it could throttle the streaming quality. This led to situations where the resolution would drop below the advertised 4K, even for Stadia Pro subscribers. Similarly, frame rates suffered, reaching 30 FPS and lower, resulting in stuttering or laggy gameplay for users. Even with a fast internet connection, server load from Google’s end of things could lead to the same results. Furthermore, Stadia employed dynamic resolution scaling to maintain a smooth frame rate. This means the resolution might fluctuate slightly to ensure the game runs without significant lag which might’ve bothered some gamers that preferred a consistent frame rate.
Market Confusion
This is all without mentioning the confusing marketing pre-launch. Google struggled to explain what a Stadia was (just look at their official launch trailer), and that marketing did not truly improve post-launch. If they couldn’t explain what cloud gaming was to 30 year old Bob from accounting, he was likely to just stick to Candy Crush on his mobile. And this was all happening during the early days of cloud computing. The concept of gaming from the cloud was challenging to grasp for anyone not super tech-savvy. Instead of making their trailer more of a cinematic experience, they could have focused more on informing gamers what they did. After all, making consumers step out of their comfort zone and try a new product often takes a long time, requiring small steps and patience.
Jumpstarting a Market
With cloud gaming being a relatively new frontier at the time, Google essentially had to create a market for Stadia. While there were already other established studios in the space, the entire cloud gaming scene still wasn’t that large. With the cloud gaming industry being valued at roughly 1.25 billion USD in 2021, Google Stadia’s estimated revenue of 76 million USD a year actually captured a decent 5% of the market. This was actually great for any new studio. However, the amount they made just wasn’t enough to satisfy Google’s financial expectations. The market wasn’t growing fast enough so the meager share they controlled wasn’t amounting to much. This ultimately led to their decision to just pull the plug on Stadia and focus on other projects. Some say it was a wise decision but other fans claim they just gave up too early. At least they did full refunds for purchased games.
Going forward
Looking back at it, Google Stadia actually did have a lot of potential. It was relatively simple to use with minimal barriers to entry. Casual gamers actually could just hop on any device and play a AAA quality game without friction, with.no downloads and no patches, just instant streaming. Ironically, Stadia had created its own niche fanbase, which made it even more devastating when the project just ceased to exist.
The rise and fall of Google Stadia serves as a cautionary tale for companies entering the cloud gaming market. This, of course, includes us here at YOM. We find it increasingly useful to review past case studies because both successes and failures show us how to move the cloud gaming industry forward. Stadia demonstrated that even a company backed by a tech giant like Google could fail if it lacked direction, vision, and patience. We already knew that just throwing billions to an idea wouldn’t be enough and that there needs to be execution. By studying the triumphs and challenges of those who have gone before us, YOM can evolve to truly bring the promise of cloud gaming on the power of the DePIN network to gamers and entertainment fans worldwide.
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About YOM:
YOM is a cloud gaming DePIN powering white label metaverses, immersive experiences, and games at near-zero prices and at global low-latency coverage to any device and channel. YOM is providing studios with the tools, grants and an accelerator program they need to easily craft and deploy their own Unreal Engine 5 experiences built for their brand, clients, product, or interest. YOM’s pixel-streaming infrastructure is optimised for quality, performance, and flexibility. The project is backed by a network of top-tier advisors that are in the top 5% of their industries, including gaming, technology, and sustainability.
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