Fans Angry at Perceived Google Stadia Failure
Published: Jan 30, 2020 - Last Updated: Sep 18, 2021
Cloud Gaming was supposed to be the next big breakthrough in console gaming, or rather non-console gaming. The ability to play games direct from the cloud, without the need for a console, or even having purchased a physical or downloadable version of the game, promised to open up the online gaming and esports community in new and exciting ways.
One of the expected industry leaders in this was expected to be Google Stadia, which was released back in November 2019. With the backing of such a huge company as Google, many in the industry felt that its inception and implementation could have an equivalent impact on Cloud Gaming, as the release of the PlayStation and Xbox did for console gaming.
However, just a few short months after its much-hyped release date, Google Stadia seems to be having a few teething pains, and fans and users of expressing their displeasure at the current level of service.
Fans Voice Concerns at Google Stadia Fail
In truth, the problems for Google Stadia started the day it was released, with many people complaining that the rollout of Google Stadia was beset with problems including missing access codes and issues with the internet speed requirements to fully utilise Google Stadia.
The net result of this botched introduction was a poor first impression of the Google Stadia service and in truth, things have not improved a great deal from there.
While Google has announced that 120 games are to be released for Google Stadia in 2020, 10 of them exclusively, and they have made a few small additions and improvements to the platform, fans have been less than impressed with the quality of service thus far.
Google have not released details on the number of players using Google Stadia, but indications are that of those that had signed up, around half of those players had pulled the plug and left within the past couple of months.
Evidence for this some in the number of players playing one of Stadia’s most popular games Destiny 2, which had 19,400 players the week after Stadia’s release, but which saw just over 8,000 players playing the game a few months later.
Fans have also been voicing their issues in a Reddit chat, which has seen them complain about a number of issues with Google Stadia including missing features, a lack of games and a significant lack of communication from Google.
So is there a real danger of a Google Stadia fail?
Blizzard Deal Offers Hope
While Google announced that Metro Exodus and Gylt will be available to subscribers in February, it was a different announcement this month which seems likely to stave off any Google Stadia failure.
That was the news that Google had agreed a deal with Activision Blizzard to stream esports services on YouTube and crucially, for Google Stadia customers, this includes hosting Activision Blizzard multiplier games on Google’s Stadia cloud service.
By tapping into the wealth of games Activision Blizzard have in their back catalogue, could this addition of a number of titles from this extensive range of games stave off a potential Google Stadia failure and provide the platform with a much-needed boost to its flagging fortunes?
Is there a chance Google Stadia will fail?
There is no doubt that Google Stadia’s initial release and performance has been hugely disappointing both for fans and for the company, but there was always going to be teething troubles with a brand new way of offering gaming to players.
The new deal with Activision is a very positive step for the service and gives Google Stadia fans the chance to access some of the most popular games of recent times and this should stave off any potential of a Google Stadia failure for the time being.
However, Google still need to engage more with its community, get their esports streaming service up and running smoothly and start to deliver the features promised with Google Stadia before they will win back the trust of a significant number of fans.
Since: August 10, 2015
