The developer of Journey to the Savage Planet says Google wanted only'monstrous games' with major licenses to be included in Stadia: "They were very odd"

Few videogames have had more spectacular failures than Stadia. After a buildup that included hiring industry luminaries Phil Harrison, Jade Raymond and others, the entire thing fell apart three years after its launch, leaving owners with a Bluetooth controller, and some cautionary moments.

In a recent interview with Eurogamer's Alex Hutchinson, Raccoon logic co-founder and creative Director Alex Hutchinson explained that Google didn't really know what it was doing.

Raccoon Logic, founded in 2021, was created by former employees of Typhoon Studios (developers of Journey to the Savage Planet). Stadia acquired Typhoon Studios on December 19, 2019, but shut it down in February 20,21, just as Savage Planet was launched on Stadia.

This experience was not one that you will remember fondly. Hutchinson said that Google wanted Typhoon, despite the fact that it was a small studio, to pitch games with major licenses such as Marvel and Star Wars. Google apparently thought that Typhoon would be able to work on the games as-is and then hire additional people if they were a success.

Hutchinson said, "No one spoke the same language... It was very difficult." "We would ask the questions and get the confused puppy look."

Google also asked the studio to create games that could only play on the cloud. "It was as if Netflix said, 'Here, we only create TV shows that can't be seen on any other form TV' and you were like, I have no idea what that means. They were very odd."

The timing was brutal. The studio closure came not only the day Journey to the Savage Planet was launched on Stadia but also during the peak of the Covid-19 epidemic, so Typhoon developers were unable to even gather to commiserate. Hutchinson described the experience as "pretty dark". "The day you ship is when you make the most callous mistakes in games, you know... But that happened in a pandemic? It was not fun."

Hutchinson's only positive takeaway was "money," and it sounds like that experience inspired Raccoon Logic to create its upcoming Savage Planet follow-up, Revenge of the Savage Planet. The original game was an on-the nose satire on capitalism and corporatocracy. It sounds like the sequel will take that approach further.

Hutchinson said, "But Alta Interglobal soon realized that space exploration was difficult and expensive so they decided to abandon all that," Hutchinson stated. "So, by the time you reach the planet you will be rendered redundant."

At least, it should be an interesting trip. Revenge of the Savage Planet will be released in 2025.