Google Stadia executive Phil Harrison has reportedly left the company following the closure of the platform and division earlier this year. Google’s streaming device originally launched in 2019 with promises of building new studios and IPs, improving the system and shifting the market into cloud gaming. However, support for the platform become tough to maintain after dwindling interest and hefty investments which led Google to close Stadia’s doors in January.
According to Business Insider, two sources claiming to be Google employees stated that Harrison, who served as the vice president of the division, quietly left Google back in January shortly after the company announced that it was ending support for Stadia. Harrison previously admitted that Stadia didn’t gain enough traction with players since its launch in November 2019.
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Before Harrison was hired at Google, he worked in multiple senior roles at PlayStation before leaving Sony in 2008 to join Microsoft and work on rival platform Xbox from 2012 to 2015. Players believe Harrison was partially responsible for some of the missteps at both PlayStation and Xbox while working at those companies, including to notorious launch of the Xbox One, which initially required players to always be online and prevented physical Xbox One games from being traded in at retailers.
Microsoft quickly doubled back on Xbox One’s restrictions following the backlash from the community which put PlayStation in an advantageous spot with the launch of the PS4 last generation. Harrison also worked at Sony during the launch of the PS3 which didn’t exactly have a smooth announcement due to its inflated price over the Xbox 360, hardware limitations for developers and a lineup of underwhelming launch titles.
It’s unclear where Harrison is headed next since the former Stadia boss has yet to formally make an announcement about his departure but we should hear some confirmation soon in light of this report.
Source: Business Insider
