The search engine giant introduced last year its digital video games storefront called Google Stadia. The company has long been hyping the cloud gaming service since its launch, but until now, the gaming service is still light on games with only 28 titles currently available. Business Insider recently shared some of the major reasons that prevent game developers and publishers from releasing their titles on Google Stadia.
Low Offer
One of the most noticeable things about the game library of google Stadia aside from its limited titles is the small number of Indie developers. These game makers were crucial in helping bolster the game libraries of Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Xbox One, and Sony PlayStation 4. Indie games are critical to the success of Google Stadia, but so far, only four Indie games are in the cloud streaming service's library.
In a report by Business Insider, it revealed one of the reasons Indie game developers have for holding out their titles to Google Stadia. "We were approached by the Stadia team," one prominent indie developer told me. "Usually with that kind of thing, they lead with some kind of offer that would give you an incentive to go with them." But the incentive "was kind of non-existent," they said. "That's the short of it." The report adds that the sentiment was shared by several other popular indie game developers.
It appears that the offer to indie game developers was too low as they claim that money was not enough. Although some of them admitted that the incentive is not all about money, but developers think it is a major part of the deal. One developer revealed that in situations like this, they always consider the financial support and evaluate if it is enough to allow them to do what they want with the game.
Uncertainty on Google Stadia's Stability
Another reason revealed in the report is the uncertainty among game developers and publishers about Google Stadia. One developer points out that Google's cloud game streaming service does not have a large audience yet. Because of this, it must offer a good incentive program to game developers. Some developers also think that there isn't enough reason to place their game on Google Stadia.
Also, they underlined the fact that they are uncertain if they are working with Google for a long term relationship or for just a year, given the company's reputation. Developers are anxious that the search engine giant might terminate Google Stadia at some point, based on its track record.
