IO Interactive is evaluating how it can support Stadia Hitman players following Google's announcement that it's shutting down the cloud-streaming platform. Google's confirmation that Stadia would soon be turned off, with all purchases of games and hardware refunded, took many by surprise. Hitman is just one example of a problem that apparently impacts IO Interactive and other game developers, who are left wondering how to support their Stadia communities soon to be without a platform to serve them.If Hitman was just another game available to purchase on Stadia, it might not be such a priority for IO Interactive to help the community. However, IO Interactive had a unique partnership with Stadia. Not only had IO Interactive released Hitman 3 on Stadia, but also Hitman 1 and Hitman 2. Further, IO Interactive gave away a free Hitman 3 - Starter Pack at one point. As far as communities went on Stadia, IO Interactive's Hitman groups had quite the following due in part to the developer's broad support.With that in mind, IO Interactive says that it wants to do something. The message from IO Interactive on Twitter, spoken directly to Hitman fans playing on Google Stadia, is that the development team is "looking into ways for you to continue your Hitman experience on other platforms." No immediate solutions have yet been presented. The current expectation is that all Hitman-related purchases will be refunded to Stadia users, regardless of what IO Interactive decides to do in the future.
It may seem like a simple problem, to some. IO Interactive could give PC keys for Hitman games to those who purchased them on Stadia and that would be that. However, the Hitman series of games on Stadia do not have cross-progression. Hitman players on Stadia cannot carry over their saves to PC or vice versa. That makes IO Interactive's situation not just a customer service problem, but also a technical hurdle, too.
Offering Stadia players Hitman game codes also doesn't necessarily make sense. Stadia is a cloud service and the reason many people use it is to avoid having to pay for a gaming PC or console. While Ubisoft is choosing to offer codes for games players own on Stadia, many won't be able to use them. IO Interactive may be considering how realistic it will be to partner with another cloud-streaming service.
Getting Stadia users the games they bought on another platform, figuring out cross-progression, and ensuring those that use cloud streaming exclusively are taken care of are likely just a few of the challenges IO Interactive has before it. It's no surprise IO Interactive hasn't dedicated itself to a path forward yet, but also good that it's dedicated itself to something. Hitman fans will hopefully be taken care of, in time.
The Hitman Trilogy is no longer available on Stadia.