Google changes focus for Stadia streaming service

pcgamesinsider.biz:

Tech giant Google has reportedly changed its approach towards its Stadia streaming service.

That's according to Business Insider, which reports that the company was pitching its tech under the name Google Stream to companies including Bungie and Capcom. The idea is that the firm would partner with these companies to power cloud versions of their games, with the studios able to manage content and front-end experience. Google Stream is also apparently the name that powered a game found in Peleton bikes, recently.

Furthermore, Stadia boss Phil Harrison has apparently been demoted; he will no longer be reporting to hardware chief Rick Osterloh, instead being managed by the company's VP of subscription services.

Google apparently was targeting one million monthly active users by the end of 2020; the firm failed to hit this mark by around 25 per cent.

Stadia launched in November 2019 and failed to make much of a splash in the market. In February 2021, the firm said that it was closing down its first-party Stadia Games and Entertainment studios. The following May, Google insisted Stadia was "alive and well".