No Justice
Google has announced that the VP & Head of Product for streaming service Stadia has left Google. John Justice was one of the faces of the Stadia brand, appearing in interviews and marketing streams in the lead-up to the product’s launch in 2019.
Following a report by The Information referencing Justice’ absence, 9to5Google confirmed that the executive had indeed left the company. “We can confirm John is no longer with Google, and we wish him well on his next step.” reads a succinct statement on the website.
Stadia losing its Head of Product is just the latest in a series of rough optics for both the brand and the service. Justice’ departure follows the closing of Stadia’s in-house development studio back in February. The closure also saw the departure of high-ranking producer Jade Raymond, who left to found her own studio, Haven Entertainment.
Google has stated that it intends to reach out to third-party studios for Stadia’s future titles, noting that it has over 100 titles coming to the platform over the course of 2021. These include major releases such as Capcom’s Resident Evil Village. The Head of Product role will be reassigned and, optimistically, there is a possibility that a change of leadership could see the Stadia service change course for the better. But there’s no denying that’s it’s an uphill battle for Google’s experimental service.