Skip to main content

Google announces game studio dedicated to original titles for Stadia

Earlier this year, Google announced that it would form its own gaming division, with the intent of producing original and exclusive content for its forthcoming cloud-based gaming service, Google Stadia. Today, the tech giant has announced that its first gaming studio has opened in Montreal, Canada.

According to a recent Google recent blog post, Stadia Games and Entertainment will be led by industry veteran Jade Raymon, who reiterated in the blog post that the studio’s mission is to produce “exclusive, original content across a diverse portfolio of games.”

Related Videos

This will allow Stadia to receive a steady flow of first-party content not available anywhere else in addition to its supply of second and third-party titles such as Assassin’s Creed OdysseyBorderlands 3, Cyberpunk 2077, and Destiny 2.

With Stadia competing with gaming systems such as the Nintendo Switch and with the next generation of Xbox and PlayStation consoles slated to launch a year from now, it is crucial for Stadia to start developing its own original IPs to incentivize players to hop on Stadia.

“It’s very important for first-party games, in my opinion, to be games that wouldn’t be possible on any other platform,” Raymond stated. “I think that’s what’s really exciting and why we’re building out the first-party teams.”

There is no official word yet on its first batch of first-party games launching on Stadia, which is slated to launch officially on November 19. Although it has been reported that even pre-ordering, the service does not guarantee you can play Stadia on its official launch day. Raymond has yet to comment on what genre(s) the studio will be focusing on, given Google’s extensive background in various tech industry beats such as artificial intelligence.

With Stadia launching in three weeks, we can strongly infer that second- and third-party titles will primarily support Google Stadia for the first few months until the Canadian-based studio can hire enough people to help build out Stadia’s original content portfolio.

In addition to announcing the studio’s office location, the blog post also served as a job posting of sorts for game developers looking for work and interested in joining the ambitious Montreal-based developer, citing what the studio aims to do and that it has several positions to fill.

“We believe in being more: More ambitious. More inclusive. More accessible. More immersive. More engaging. We’re bringing that mentality to Stadia Games and Entertainment, and now with our first studio, we’re looking for the best developers on the planet to join us,” the blog post said.

Editors' Recommendations

Watch out — Diablo IV might break your Nvidia GPU
Screenshot from the Diablo IV trailer.

Following last weekend's Diablo IV open beta, reports came flooding in saying that the game might be breaking Nvidia graphics cards. This means various crashes and subpar performance, as well as even outright dead GPUs.

Fortunately, not all cards are affected, and there are steps you can take to protect yourself. Here's what we know.

Read more
Death Stranding 2: release date speculation, trailers, gameplay, and more
Sam with grey hair.

There were plenty of hints along the way, and even some leaks by the leading man himself, but it was only made official at the Game Awards 2022 that Death Stranding 2 is on its way. Coming from the same influential and creative mind as the original, as well as the Metal Gear franchise before it, Hideo Kojima introduced the game himself. Of course, nothing about Kojima's games are straight forward, and what was revealed about Death Stranding 2 probably raised more questions than it answered. We're strapping on our boots, connecting to our BBs, and are ready to make the trek to find out everything there is about Death Stranding 2.
Release date

The trailer didn't give us a release date for Death Stranding 2, and in fact, even pointed out that this was just the game's working title and would likely change. That leads us to believe that 2023 is probably too soon to expect it, but 2024 certainly feels possible.
Platforms

Read more
Pick up these Nintendo games you can only get on Wii U and 3DS
xenoblade and pokemon picross headline eshop update chronicles x nintendo wii u

The Nintendo Switch has one of the greatest first-party lineups of any Nintendo console. In addition to several outstanding original games, a lot of awesome Wii U games like Super Mario 3D World, Pikmin 3, and Mario Kart 8 finally got all the love they deserved when they were ported to the Switch. Even some 3DS games like Miitopia have made their way to Nintendo Switch. Still, that isn't all-encompassing, so when the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U eShops are discontinued on March 27, we will lose access to some amazing first-party Nintendo games that aren't available elsewhere.
From black sheep in their respective series to new IP that tests out some novel ideas, four Wii U and four 3DS games that are still platform exclusives stuck out the most to us. If you're specifically looking for Nintendo-published games to pick up before the 3DS and Wii U eShops stop allowing the purchase of new games, consider picking up one of these titles.
Xenoblade Chronicles X

Considering the rest of the Xenoblade Chronicles series is on Nintendo Switch, it's very surprising that Xenoblade Chronicles X has not made the jump over yet. This RPG stands as the black sheep of the series, with a more gritty style and tone, mech suits, and a plot about humans who crash land on an alien planet after escaping Earth, which might be why it didn't come over before the trilogy was completed. Xenoblade Chronicles X is a great game in its own right, though, and also makes ample use of the Wii U GamePad for its detailed map and menus. As such, it's a worthwhile Wii U pickup for those who like to play games uniquely tailored to the system and enjoy seeing what the oddball entries in game franchises have to offer. 
Star Fox Zero

Read more