{"id":96890,"date":"2022-10-14T12:29:25","date_gmt":"2022-10-14T12:29:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/so-much-screaming-inside-me-google-stadia-shutdown-stuns-indie-developers\/"},"modified":"2022-10-14T12:29:25","modified_gmt":"2022-10-14T12:29:25","slug":"so-much-screaming-inside-me-google-stadia-shutdown-stuns-indie-developers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/so-much-screaming-inside-me-google-stadia-shutdown-stuns-indie-developers\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cSo much screaming inside me\u201c\u2014Google Stadia shutdown stuns indie developers"},"content":{"rendered":"<div itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<figure class=\"intro-image intro-left\">\n  <figcaption class=\"caption\">\n<div class=\"caption-text\">enlarge <span class=\"sep\">\/<\/span> Like it never even happened.<\/div>\n<p>Aurich Lawson \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside id=\"social-left\" class=\"social-left\" aria-label=\"Read the comments or share this article\">\n<\/aside>\n<p><!-- cache hit 1214:single\/related:66c5a2d6b4d76f3ae265b2ce08b21079 --><!-- empty --><\/p>\n<p>Source Byte Studios Chairman of the Board Nikodem Swider had just put in one final late-night bug-squashing session.  After four long months of porting work, his small Polish studio was finally ready to submit a near-final build addressing all of the \u201cmust fix\u201d errors Google had identified before the game <i>Jump Challenge<\/i> could finally launch on Stadia.<\/p>\n<p>Then, scrolling through the news on his train ride home, Swider saw what he called a \u201chorror message\u201d on his phone.  Stadia was closing down.  All his porting work would be for naught.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I [thought] it was some rumor\u2026 it cannot be true,\u201d Swider said in a YouTube video in the immediate aftermath of the shutdown.  \u201c[Then] I saw [it was an] official statement about Stadia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI start shaking a little bit,\u201d Swider recalled.  \u201cWe put so much effort, so much effort to make it done\u2026 But everything [is] gone, all work has gone.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>the blindside<\/h2>\n<p>Swider wasn&#8217;t the only Stadia developer blindsided by Google&#8217;s late September announcement that the streaming gaming service would be shutting down next January.  Game makers who talked to Ars (and some who <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SFBTom\/status\/1575558078367690752\" target=\"_blank\">shared<\/a> their <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/mobile.twitter.com\/SimoRoth\/status\/1575535802116964353\" target=\"_blank\">surprise<\/a> front <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RaveofRavendale\/status\/1575523084194512897\" target=\"_blank\">social media<\/a>), all said they had no indication of Google&#8217;s shutdown plans before the public announcement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDuring correspondence [with Google]we are exchanging emails\u2014nothing showed us it could be the end of Stadia,\u201d Swider said.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad_wrapper\" aria-label=\"In Content advertisement\">\n    <span class=\"ad_notice\">Advertisement <\/span>    <\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<figure class=\"video\">\n<p><div class=\"ast-oembed-container\" style=\"height: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"HORRIBLE NIGHT WITH STADIA... THE GAME THAT ALMOST GOT TO THE STADIA...\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Zs9YyC6sYOY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<figcaption class=\"caption\">\n<p>Source Byte&#8217;s Nikodem Swider shares thoughts on his experience working on an unshipped Stadia port.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Olde Sk\u00fc\u00fcl Games CEO Rebecca Heineman told Ars her team was still working on a planned Stadia port of casual color-matching game <i>Luxor Evolved<\/i> the morning of Google&#8217;s shutdown announcement.  Heineman said she was preparing for a marketing meeting with her Google rep, scheduled for the next day, when an employee saw the news on Google&#8217;s official blog.<\/p>\n<p>Heineman said she immediately reached out to her contact at Google to find out what was going on.  \u201cA couple of hours later, I got a response saying, &#8216;WTF?\u2026 Well, now I know what the all-hands meeting is going to be about,&#8217;\u201d Heineman recalled.  \u201cThat was a Stadia employee!\u2026 So even they didn&#8217;t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"ars-pullquote large \">\n<p>\u201cPeople talked about it shutting down since day one&#8230; I just hoped it wouldn&#8217;t happen before we could put the game out!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span>Necrosoft Games&#8217; Brandon Sheffield<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Necrosoft Games Director Brandon Sheffield said he had been discussing Stadia Software Development Kit updates and marketing plans just days before Stadia&#8217;s shutdown killed the studio&#8217;s planned port of <i>Hyper Gunsport<\/i>.  That said, Sheffield added that he always knew this outcome was a distinct possibility.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI mean, people talked about it shutting down since day one,\u201d Sheffield told Ars.  \u201cI knew it was a risk because Google is a big company, and if they&#8217;re not seeing big numbers, either of dollars or users or some other mystery number, they have a reputation for shutting stuff down.  I just hoped it wouldn&#8217;t happen before we could put the game out!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>enlarge \/ Like it never even happened. Aurich Lawson \/ Getty Images Source Byte Studios Chairman of the Board Nikodem Swider had just put in one final late-night bug-squashing session. After four long months of porting work, his small Polish studio was finally ready to submit a near-final build addressing all of the \u201cmust fix\u201d &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/so-much-screaming-inside-me-google-stadia-shutdown-stuns-indie-developers\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">\u201cSo much screaming inside me\u201c\u2014Google Stadia shutdown stuns indie developers<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":101753,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/netflix-launching-new-gaming-studio-led-by-former-overwatch-producer\/","url_meta":{"origin":96890,"position":0},"title":"Netflix Launching New Gaming Studio Led by Former Overwatch Producer","date":"October 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Netflix is \u200b\u200bcontinuing its expansion into gaming by opening a new development studio in Southern California.According to TechCrunch, Netflix's VP of gaming, Mike Verdu, said this new studio will include former Blizzard vice president and Overwatch boss Chako Sonny at the helm.\u201cHe could have done anything, but he chose to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":101818,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/netflix-plans-game-streaming-weeks-after-google-stadia-collapse\/","url_meta":{"origin":96890,"position":1},"title":"Netflix Plans Game Streaming Weeks After Google Stadia Collapse","date":"October 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Image: NurPhoto (Getty Images)In the wake of Google Stadia's recently announcedentirely inevitable collapse, launching a new streamed gaming service might seem a little brave. But then, if you're Netflix, you've certainly at least got some of the infrastructure in place. The streaming giant has made clear its intentions to leap\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":101301,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/netflix-to-expand-into-cloud-gaming-opens-new-studio-in-southern-california-techcrunch\/","url_meta":{"origin":96890,"position":2},"title":"Netflix to expand into cloud gaming, opens new studio in Southern California \u2022 TechCrunch","date":"October 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"At TechCrunch Disrupt, Netflix VP of Gaming Mike Verdu dropped two bits of news about the streaming giant's foray into games. Verdu said that Netflix is \u200b\u200b\u201cseriously exploring a cloud gaming offering.\u201d The company will also open a new gaming studio in Southern California. \u201cIt's a value add. We're not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/TechCrunch-Disrupt-Haje-Kamps-11.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":101930,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/google-is-going-all-in-on-pixel-hardware-to-fight-apple-de-emphasizing-assistant\/","url_meta":{"origin":96890,"position":3},"title":"Google is going all-in on Pixel hardware to fight Apple, de-emphasizing Assistant","date":"October 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Recession and regulation sees Google turn to hardware For a long time, Google has been in a position that helps it dominate the mobile phone market. 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