Stadia, of course, launched to much fanfare in 2019, and part of Google’s promise to early adopters was that the service would bring its own console-like exclusives from both first- and third-parties. To that end, Google established its own internal game development studio and signed deals with external developers, including Supermassive, as announced in 2020. Those plans, however, changed dramatically just 14 months after Stadia’s high-profile arrival, with Google announcing a major rethink of its cloud streaming strategy following a less-than-stellar launch, which included the cancellation of all internal game development as it began prioritising selling its tech to third-parties. According to a new report from Axios, two external games in development for Stadia that were affected by Google’s strategic U-turn were Supermassive’s The Quarry and Squanch Games’ upcoming sci-fi comedy shooter High On Life, both of which were originally envisaged as “signature” titles for Stadia, intended to draw players to the beleaguered service. Requests for comment by Axios didn’t shed much additional light on the journey both titles have taken since their severance from Stadia, but, if nothing else, it’s an intriguing glimpse into Google’s original ambitions for the service, giving some indication of what might have been if Stadia hadn’t so dramatically fumbled its launch.
