Google has acquired Typhoon Studios, the developer of the upcoming space exploration game Journey to the Savage Planet, as part of the company’s efforts to strengthen its internal game development plan. Typhoon Studios will join Stadia Games and Entertainment, according to the studio’s director, Jade Raymond.
Typhoon Studios was founded in 2017. The Montreal-based studio was co-founded by former Ubisoft creative director Alex Hutchinson and former electronic arts executive producer Reid Schneider. The studio announced Journey to the Savage Planet the following year.
Stadia Games and Entertainment was officially announced in March when Google launched the Stadia platform. Raymond has been named vice president of the division, which is responsible for developing original games using Stadia technology. Raymond said at the time that the in-house studio was “reinterpreting the new generation of games” and “will also work with external developers to make the latest Google technology you’ve seen today available to partner studios large and small.”
Raymond says that Sébastien Puel, longtime executive producer of Assassins Creed, will oversee the first Stadia Games and Entertainment studio in Montreal that Typhoon belongs to.
“Typhoon Studios will continue to roll out Journey to the Savage Planet to multiple platforms on January 28, 2020,” said Raymond. “In the meantime, our priority will be to integrate the Typhoon Studios team into Stadia Games and Entertainment. We’re excited to welcome this incredibly talented team to the Google family! “
Google’s range of original, exclusive Stadia games is almost unknown, and the number of games that use the platform’s unique technology is similarly small, aside from the streaming features. Only Ubisoft’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint stands out from the current list of available games to take advantage of the exclusive Stadia features with support for Stream Connect in PvE mode from Breakpoint. This feature allows players to share their screen in real time with up to three co-op team members. “The perspective of other players simplifies tactical communication between team members so that players can work together like never before,” explains Ubisoft of the function.