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Google has reportedly changed the purpose and branding of Stadia’s technology in order to shop the platform’s streaming capabilities to other partners. The platform’s streaming technology is under a new name: Google Stream.
In a report from Business Insider, people familiar with the plans say that Google has shifted priorities. As the site puts it, “The Stadia consumer platform, meanwhile, has been deprioritized within Google, insiders said, with a reduced interest in negotiating blockbuster third-party titles.” Now, Google is trying to secure deals with companies such as Peloton, Capcom, and Bungie.
Google reportedly pitched its technology to Bungie for the studio’s own streaming platform and the talks made considerable progress. While Bungie will continue to support Stadia, it’s unclear how Sony’s purchase of Bungie this week would impact the talks with Google. Google has also spoken with Capcom to run demos for new titles utilizing its technology.
However, Google managed to successfully pitch its Stadia technology to AT&T, where customers were able to stream Batman: Arkham Knight directly from their web browser. A Google spokesperson, Patrick Seybold, told Business Insider, “We announced our intentions of helping publishers and partners deliver games directly to gamers last year, and have been working toward that. The first manifestation has been our partnership with AT&T who is offering Batman: Arkham Knight available to their customers for free.”
Google announced early last year that it was shutting down its internal first-party studios. Insiders say the priority for Stadia is now to steadily release titles from independent developers. This is said to be a much more affordable venture than trying to secure big-budget AAA games.
“The key thing was that they would not be spending the millions on the big titles,” an insider said. “And exclusives would be out of the question.”
“While we won’t be commenting on any rumors or speculation regarding other industry partners, we are still focused on bringing great games to Stadia in 2022,” said Seybold. “With 200+ titles currently available, we expect to have another 100+ games added to the platform this year, and currently have 50 games available to claim in Stadia Pro.”
