Before Phil Harrison even joined Google, he wanted to ensure the company had its own game development studio for its inevitable entry into the industry.
I spoke to Harrison after the Google Stadia GDC 2019 reveal, specifically discussing Google’s decision to open a first-party studio (rather than say, acquire other, existing companies or rely solely on third parties.) He told me that creating a first-party studio was a key factor of his choice to join Google.
was a decision I made before I joined Google. I said to Google, ‘This is a fundamental of being in the game platform business,'” Harrison explained. “And I said, ‘I know this is a different muscle than Google has historically had.”
Source: IGN.com Google Exec on Why First-Party Is Foundational to Stadia