2022 has been a pretty good year for cloud gaming, even the oft-overlooked Google Stadia. This, in part, has been thanks to the support of big publishers like Ubisoft. Generally speaking, Ubisoft has been a big supporter of the cloud, with titles available on Stadia, GeForce Now, Xbox Cloud Streaming and Amazon Luna.
However, one thing trumps all and that is cash. And it seems that Ubisoft couldn’t help but accept a lot of green from Amazon to keep the next installment of Assassin’s Creed off the other clouds. The story comes via a Stephen Totilo at Axios.
NEWS: Assassin’s Creed Mirage will not be on Google Stadia, only Amazon Luna in terms of streaming services, Ubisoft confirms.
An attractive omission given that Stadia launched with a beta test of AC Odyssey and has had tons of AC
— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) September 12, 2022
Google’s relationship, in particular, with Ubisoft has been quite exceptional. When Stadia launched as a technical test known as Project Stream, it was Assassin’s Creed that drove the experience. Ubisoft+ is also available on Stadia since it’s Luna, and on GeForce Now you can only play the Ubisoft games you already own. The issue here is not that one cloud is better than the other, they all have advantages. It is not even necessary that one of the platforms has obtained an exclusive through, supposedly, a bag of cash.
The problem for anyone looking to play this long-awaited title via the cloud on their phones, tablets, Chromebooks or whatever, is that Luna is very limited. It is currently only available in the United States. And as this statement goes, it’s Luna or nothing. So it’s USA or nothing. You can joke about how many people do or don’t use Stadia, but at least it’s a bit more global.
So apparently that’s it. There were many missteps with the initial marketing of Mirage, including a suggestion that it would launch on Stadia. But that’s not the case, I guess most of us are out of luck.
Source: Axios