With the nature of cloud-based game streaming, concerns have been raised about how Google’s Stadia will handle games that get pulled from its library. Now, the company has addressed this, stating that any Google Stadia games purchased by players will remain in their library even if they get removed from the store.
As a streaming service, Google Stadia hosts its games on the company’s data centers, and not on a user’s device. This has led some to some concern that Stadia users may lose access to their games if they’re pulled from the service for whatever reason.
Talking to IGN, Google Vice President Phil Harrison addressed the above concerns. He stated that Stadia users will still be able to access a game even if it’s pulled. All that will happen, he confirmed, is that the game in question will no longer be available to new players.
“Now there may be, as we’ve seen in the past, times where the developer or publisher no longer has rights to sell to new players,” stated Harrison. “And that means that the game will not be available to new players, but it will continue to be available to existing players.”
Traditional retail- and download-based services install a game’s data locally, without the need for a server. This gives players the ability to continue playing these games regardless if their publishers pull them from stores.
Based on Harrison’s statement, it looks like Google Stadia will do its best to replicate this experience with its service, despite its cloud based nature. This should help give gamers interested in trying the Google Stadia out a bit more confidence in the service.
Of course, there are still a few other items that may give prospective subscribers pause. One other concern comes from the service charging full price for games on top of a subscription fee. Hopefully these and other concerns don’t hinder the service when it launches in November.
