TECH NEWS – Several developers have expressed concern and frustration following the announcement of the closure of Stadia, as they were not given advance notice. There was a team whose work went to waste for months because of this.

Google announced yesterday that Stadia will shut down in January 2023, but for many developers, the public announcement was the first they’d heard of it.

Maia developer Simon Roth wrote on Twitter that “months of [his] work is going in the trash again,” adding that he had received no advance notice:“Every time something bad things happen in games, the people involved, whose lives are sometimes turned upside down, find out from the press or Twitter. No e-mails, no phone calls, no warnings, no comments on the website”.

He added that he “doesn’t know anyone involved with Stadia right now who’s heard more than what’s in the press.” Further on the thread, he shared a screenshot from another Twitter user that shows , that Google employees reportedly only learned about the shutdown three hours before the public announcement.

Other developers have shared similar stories, with SFB Games’ Tom Vian tweeting that Tangle Tower is coming to Stadia tomorrow, and The Verge’s article announcing Stadia’s closure as “first [he] heard of about closure”.

Veteran game developer Rebecca Heineman also tweeted, “We have a title coming out November 1st. We’re just hearing about it now.” She later added that her team is “still figuring out how to move forward.” “.

In a statement shared yesterday, Stadia vice president and general manager Phil Harrison said he still “sees clear opportunities to take this technology to other parts of Google” and that the company continues to be “deeply committed to games”.

Google is refunding all Stadia purchases made through the Google Store, as it was immediately taken down, but did not address the actions taken by development partners.

GamesIndustry.biz reached out to Google to clarify the situation.

Source: GamesIndustry.biz