Google Reportedly Canceled Stadia-Exclusive Sequel For ‘Death Stranding’ | Engadget

One of the main issues that worked from the jump was the fact that Google didn’t get blockbuster exclusives for the cloud gaming service, which it will. Of course people got to play the likes of Red Dead Redemption 2, Cyberpunk 2077 and Destiny 2 on the platform, but these are all available elsewhere. Turns out Google may have spurned the chance for an exclusive title from one of the biggest names in gaming.

According at one point, Hideo Kojima was working on a Stadia-only sequel for which debuted on PlayStation in 2019 and later came to PC. Death Stranding has some asynchronous multiplayer elements. Other players can use ladders, roads and other objects that you place in the world, for example. However, the planned follow-up was supposed to be an all-single-player game, which might have been why Google canceled the project.

According to the report, Google canned the game, which has been described as an episodic horror title, after seeing the first mockups in 2020. Stadia VP and GM Phil Harrison reportedly made the decision final to kill the project. For what it’s worth, Kojima claimed that one of his projects was recently canceled.

Google would have abandoned the project thinking that there was no longer a market for single-player games. Of note, CD Projekt Red this Cyberpunk 2077 (which, again, was released on Stadia) has now sold 20 million copies, less than two years after its release. Mid-2021, Death Stranding itself had sold over 5 million copies.

The lack of big exclusives is far from the only issue that led to Stadia’s downfall. A dodgy business model and one didn’t help, nor did Google for ruthlessly killing its own products. Even though Stadia has great game streaming technology and avid fans, it never took off the way Google hoped. The company will issue and refund all hardware and software purchases (except Pro subscriptions). Ubisoft will allow people who have purchased its games on Stadia to access the PC versions.

Developer news of Stadia’s demise, from giants like Destiny 2 Bungie studio to independent studios whose titles were set to release in the now closed Stadia store in the coming weeks. As notes, it’s unclear if Google has a general plan to reimburse studios for the costs they after launching their games on Stadia. There are also concerns about what Stadia’s closure means for the preservation of the game. While Google hasn’t secured AAA exclusives, these aren’t available elsewhere.

Meanwhile, some need to unlock Stadia controller Bluetooth functions. The argument is that, if people can more easily use the gamepad on other platforms, the gamepad is less likely to become . The controller connects directly to WiFi for Stadia games to minimize lag. You can also connect it to devices with a USB-C cable.

As for Kojima, , according to game star Norman Reedus. that Kojima has partnered with Xbox Game Studios for its next title. This game will be powered by Microsoft cloud technology.