Google fired more than 150 Stadia staff after praising their work

• In less than two years, Google suddenly shut down its video game studio in early February.
• More than 150 employees of Google’s Stadia Games & Entertainment group have been dismissed.
• Just a few days ago, Vice President Phil Harrison reportedly reassured the team about Google’s ongoing efforts.
• See Insider’s Business section for more information.

When Google closed its game development studio earlier this month, more than 150 employees suddenly quit their jobs.

It came as a shock to those employees, as the heads of their department just praised their work and confirmed Google’s continued commitment to game creation, According to the new Kotaku report..

More than 150 employees at Google’s game development studio, collectively known as Stadia Games & Entertainment, said from Vice President Phil Harrison, “By building a diverse and talented team and establishing a strong lineup of Stadia-only games. We have made great strides, “he said. .. ”

More importantly, the letter reportedly confirmed the group’s “investment envelope” shortly and stated that it would “provide information on the SG & E strategy and 2021.” A letter to Harrison employees, reportedly received a week before the department closed, essentially supports Google’s ongoing commitment to game development. It is notorious for being expensive and complex.

Then, on February 1, Google suddenly shut down Stadia Games & Entertainment in a public blog post written by Harrison.

“We have decided not to invest any more in providing exclusive content from our in-house development team SG & E beyond the games planned for the time being.” He said in a blog post..

Regarding staff, Harrison said, “In the coming months, most of the SG & E team will move to new roles. We are working with this talented team to find and support new roles. “I wrote. According to a Kotaku reportFormer SG & E staff are struggling to find a new role within Google, given their game development background.

Harrison reportedly told employees in a question and answer session with staff that he knew that a shutdown was imminent when he sent the previous letter.

Google’s game project, Stadia, has been frustrated since it was announced at the 2019 Game Developers Conference.

This service provides an internet connection, a video game that can be played via Netflix. However, instead of using a subscription model like Netflix, Stadia users will have to purchase each game individually.

At the same time that Google announced that it would close its game development studio, Harrison also announced a shift in Stadia’s focus. “There is an important opportunity to work with partners seeking gaming solutions built on Stadia’s advanced technical infrastructure and platform tools.”

The company will continue to operate Stadia as a consumer service, but Google’s future gaming ambitions will focus on selling the service’s infrastructure and tools to other companies.

A Google representative declined to comment on this report.