Developers Don't Trust Google to Commit to Stadia Game Streaming Service

Google Stadia launched in November but only has 28 games still. Business Insider interviewed some developers to find out why they aren't on board with Google's streaming service and found a lot of skepticism around the tech giant's commitment to gaming. 

Business Insider said that it interviewed developers and publishers who pointed to two "main reasons" for withholding their games. "Google didn't offer them enough money, and they don't trust the mercurial company to stick with gaming in the long term," the publication said. 

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"There are platforms you want to be on because they have an audience and you want to reach that audience," one unnamed developer reportedly said. "That's what Steam is or that's what [Nintendo] Switch is. They have big groups on their platforms, and you want to be with those groups so they can play your games."

From a developers point of view, it's not an easy task to port a game to work on Google Stadia, and without the right incentives, it's easy to see why developers wouldn't want to pour resources into a platform that might not work out. 

The publication noted that every individual they interviewed mentioned Google's inability to commit to services at some point.

One developer also said "But with Google's history, I don't even know if they're working on Stadia in a year. That wouldn't be something crazy that Google does. It's within their track record." 

Without the right developers supporting the platform, the audience on Google Stadia won't grow. And that would mean developers would continue to be hesitant to commit.

Perhaps one way out is for Google to dig into its deep pockets and help developers out financially to cover the risks associated with developing for a platform still in its infancy. 

Meanwhile, Nvidia is also struggling with its GeForce Now service over agreements (or lack thereof) with developers.

That's not to say that all hope is gone. Google has promised to add over 120 games to Stadia this year, including big AAA titles like Cyberpunk 2077. We'll see if these additions help pull the service past the invisible threshold holding developers back.