Lessons from the Rise and Fall of Stadia in Cloud Gaming

Google formally announced the innovative video game service Stadia at the 2019 Game Developer Conference. The company invested substantial resources and time into building a network able to support the demanding requirements of cloud gaming. But the early uptake by premium video gamers was disappointing.

The leadership team faced a decision. Should they double down on the streaming strategy, refocusing Stadia on the casual gamer segment? Or should they pull the plug altogether?

In this episode, Harvard Business School Senior Lecturer Derek van Bever and coauthor Akshat Agrawal explore Google’s strategic choice, which is featured in their case “Google Stadia: Game On or Game Over?”