Phil Harrison, the former boss of Google’s now-defunct cloud-based gaming service Google Stadia, has reportedly left the company. According to Business Insider, citing two Google employees with knowledge of the matter, Harrison departed the company in January, when Google officially closed its cloud service.
Google Stadia was launched in November 2019 to revolutionize the gaming industry but struggled to gain user traction. In September 2022, platform general manager Harrison announced the closure plans for Stadia, admitting that the service had not met the company’s expectations in terms of user engagement.
Following the closure announcement, Google confirmed that it would refund all Stadia hardware purchases made through the Google Store and all game and add-on content purchases made through the Stadia store.
Google has not commented on Harrison’s departure, and his plans remain unknown. Before joining Google, Harrison was best known for his time at Sony, where he held senior roles within the PlayStation division. He left Sony in 2008 and later joined Microsoft, working for three years between 2012 and 2015 as part of its Interactive Entertainment Team.
