Google is in the gaming world now with the Stadia, and as such it has announced a brand new studio. To show how serious they are, Google went after a driving force behind one of the biggest game releases of the last 10 years.
Shannon Studstill, a producer from Sony’s Santa Monica studios will be heading up Google’s brand new studio. She was one of the producers behind the 2018 smash hit God of War, which set the gaming world on fire.
“The new Playa Vista studio will focus on delivering exclusive games, using new gameplay mechanics, creative ways to play together and unique interaction models that we’re just starting to explore,” Google said in a blog post regarding the new studio. “While we’re not ready to share specific game plans yet, rest assured we are listening to what gamers want and adding our own Stadia twists to create new IP and experiences.”
Studstill is a gaming industry veteran who has been active within the world of video games for more than a quarter century. Most of that time has been spent working on the God of War franchise. Before that, she worked as a digital painter for The Mask: The Origin and was a camera loader on Alien Terminator.
After those projects, she went into a production role that led her to God of War during the PlayStation 2 era.
This actually marks the second new Stadia games studio announced by Google. The first was Stadia Games and Entertainment in Montreal Canada. This move represents an investment on the part of Google, as a new studio is going to have to work for several years before they start producing content and a return on investment for the company.
That shows a level of commitment on the part of Google to enter the gaming industry. The world’s largest search engine seems determined to throw its hat into the ring, going so far as to poach one of the driving forces behind one of the most iconic gaming franchises of all time for this new studio.
God of War, however, will continue on without Studstill. While it has not been confirmed by Santa Monica Studio of Sony, many believe that work on the next installment of God of War is already well underway.
At this point it looks as though God of War 5 will be a title released on the upcoming PlayStation 5 console. That console is set to drop this holiday season. It would likely be at least another year or two before we get any kind of God of War release out of Sony.
