Google acquires Typhoon Studios to develop Stadia exclusive games

It’s no secret at this point that Google Stadia was a colossal disappointment. Not in terms of the technology or the capabilities of the platform; Many people were shocked at how streaming games on a vaguely speedy Internet connection works better than most of us expected. It’s just that the actual service around Stadia was incredibly poor. A small and lacklustre catalogue of games to choose from, the inability to play with friends and a controller that doesn’t function as initially advertised, Stadia is just not something that can be recommended. However, it looks like Google is trying to turn that around as they have announced their acquisition of Typhoon Games who will be developing exclusively for Stadia.

Typhoon Games, who’re just a couple of months away from releasing Journey to the Savage Planet for consoles and PC, is an indie studio that’s being helmed by plenty of industry veterans. Founded by Rich Schneider (formally production head of Warner Bros. Games Montreal) and Alex Hutchinson (creative director for Assassin’s Creed III and Far Cry 4), the team has experience under their belts. In an interview with VentureBeat, Jade Raymond, vice president of Stadia Games and Entertainment, spoke more about Typhoon’s acquisition by Google. “We’re super-excited to be able to be working with this crew because they’re a team that has done amazing work on amazing games. They worked on everything from Batman to Assassin’s Creed. And the original Splinter Cell, which Reid led as executive producer.”

They have a very tight-knit team that managed to ship what looks like a pretty awesome game in a very impressive amount of time. And this will give us a big head start in our Montreal studio in terms of having a team that’s ready to really push innovation. It’s our very first first-party studio that will help drive exclusive games for Stadia.

“We plan to have multiple projects going on in Montreal,” Raymond added.

We’re not ready to talk about the specific people or what it is we’re working on. But we have under Sebastian Puel, who is the general manager of the Montreal studio. We’ve already recruited a core team here that’s on site. Alex and Reid and the team that they’ve put together is really a triple-A team. They’ve done an amazing job of really recruiting not only the best people, but creating a great culture where all those people are part of the team and working really well together. They’re a team that share our values, and their team already has a great working relationship and can get up and running fast.

Will Typhoon Games be able to pull Stadia out of the dredges of 2019 technical advancements into any kind of notable relevancy? Well, that still remains to be seen but given the host of other problems Stadia is forced to confront, Typhoon would really have to deliver something truly magical.

Last Updated: December 20, 2019