Two big game names of 2022 are The Quarry and High On Life, which both had some unexpected release plans. Google has attempted to compete in gaming by creating Stadia and working to get premium titles for it. According to Axios, this included making deals and partnerships with those behind The Quarry and High On Life to be "signature Stadia releases." Whether that meant launching on Stadia first or exclusivity to the platformer is unknown.
Big Games On Google Stadia
There have been many showcases and presentations to build up hype for The Quarry and High On Life. With Supermassive behind the former and Rick And Morty creator Justin Roiland behind the latter, both titles had a lot to support their development. Even so, it appears that each sought additional help from Google in order to make their games happen. Though, no official announcements or connections were made public As time went on, both titles ended up going their own way as shown by The Quarry launching across a variety of platforms.
The fact that these plans fell through is indicative of troubles in maintaining Google Stadia. While the service remains active, it is making some drastic changes as evident in the shutting down of their internal game dev teams, and key members of Stadia's teams taking different positions and leaving Google altogether. Since its troublesome launch, Google Stadia has struggled to present itself as a viable alternative to traditional ways we all play games. Although it still retains a connection to gaming, it's likely that Google Stadia will be undergoing some significant changes in the future.
Despite what happened, there doesn't appear to be any prominent conflict between Google and the teams behind The Quarry and High On Life. On top of that, Google maintains a position of wanting to support the development of worthwhile projects, including games.
