Google Stadia Continues to Chug Along

It’s been a little bit now since Google shuttered their internal Stadia studios and opted to create partnerships with 3rd parties instead, and while many saw this as the beginning of the end for Google’s cloud gaming platform, the company continues to support their product through fantastic 3rd party partnerships! So what does the future for Google Stadia look like, when you compare it with other services like XCloud?

Stadia’s future lies in deals with publishers, and that is perfectly OK. Stadia has always been very accessible, allowing anyone with a Bluetooth controller to connect to a computer and play via a Google Chrome browser! While XCloud is almost as accessible, it’s still got that extra step of requiring an application. What Google can pitch to publishing companies is that they have a platform that is more accessible than anyone else. Low cost, easy setup, fantastic gaming. With no updates to boot!

And more and more, Google is getting those games on Stadia on Day 1, including big hits like Square Enix’s Outriders and and smaller titles like Kaze and the Wild Masks. And this is where Google Stadia has shined the brightest – getting exlusive deals with some of the worlds best indie games and developers. Take Lost Words: Beyond the Page for example. Although it is now out on all gaming platforms as of April 2021, Stadia had exclusive rights to this title for an entire year, and seemingly did well with it. Wave Break is another good example. While priced a bit high at 29.99, this 3D platformer was available on Stadia as of June 2020, and will be released on other consoles later in 2021. Stadia is making waves in the indie market, and it’s paying back in small ways. Stack a bunch of exclusive or time exclusive titles, and Stadia has something to build on.

These indie title exclusives, along with a host of banging AAA titles puts Stadia in a comfortable spot going forward. The biggest hurdle for them to overcome yet is this concept that in some way, Google Stadia is hard to get. I’ve been running Stadia contests over the past few weeks, and so often folks say, “I don’t have Google Stadia.” For something that is free to get, I’m wondering why so many folks seem to have this misunderstanding about the platform. Step it up Google – I love your service and the work you’ve done on indie titles, but something still isn’t clicking with general audiences.