Before Google scaled back first-party development for Stadia, its video game streaming platform, two games were reportedly in the works for the platform: Supermassive's The Quarry and Squanch's High On Life.
According to Axios, both games were in development at the tech giant before Google closed its internal development studios, with The Quarry subsequently being picked up by 2K. When its parent company, Take-Two Interactive, was asked by Axios about Google, the rep simply stated that the publisher was happy with its decision and that the studio "was looking for a publishing partner as the project came to completion."
High on Life is a first-person shooter game by a team led by Justin Roiland, the co-creator of Rick and Morty. The game was revealed this past weekend during the Xbox and Bethesda showcase and is coming to PC, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One. A rep for Squanch Games didn't comment on whether it was originally in development over at Google and just repeated to Axios that it was coming to the aforementioned platforms.
Back in 2020, Google and Supermassive announced a partnership together but didn't reveal any other details. Now, it looks like the project they were working together was The Quarry. High on Life was only recently revealed, so it was never officially associated with Stadia in the first place.
In 2021, Google officially shut down its internal game development studios and refocused on third-party developers. Earlier this year, Google was reportedly going to pivot to selling Stadia's streaming technology to other companies. It partnered with AT&T to offer Control Ultimate Edition via streaming.
The Quarry is now available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One. In our The Quarry review, we said, "The Quarry is worth playing at least once, but when compared to Until Dawn, it's one step forward and one step back. It features a solid script performed by a great cast, with a slow-burn story that you can guide to a few different satisfying (or anticlimactic) conclusions."
George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey