Maker Of ‘Savage Planet’ Mocks Google Stadia’s Downfall With An Ad

Google officially launched Stadia on November 19, 2019. However, in September 2022, Google announced that Stadia would officially shut down in January of the following year. Immediately after the announcement, Xbox was the first one to take a dig at the company. Now, almost two years after Google Stadia died, the developers of the “Savage Planet” are mocking its downfall through a billboard ad.

Here’s why the Savage Planet’s maker is mocking Google Stadia’s downfall with an ad

If you didn’t follow the news at the time Google launched Stadia, you must be wondering why a non-rival would take a jab at its downfall. Here’s the backstory. The studio behind the “Journey to the Savage Planet,” Typhoon Studios, launched the “Savage Planet” series before Google launched Stadia. However, Google went on to buy Typhoon Studios in 2019.

The company wanted to develop new original games for the cloud-based platform. Unfortunately for Google, it turned out to be a poor decision, which led it to later shut down Stadia Games & Entertainment (SG&E), the in-house studio responsible for creating exclusive titles for the platform. Notably, the company shut down the studio nearly a week after the Journey to the Savage Planet’s addition to Stadia.

As noted by 9to5Google, the same team managed to get the Savage Planet IP back from Google. Later, they formed a new game studio called “Racoon Logic” after securing funding from Tencent. The team reportedly worked on a sequel to “Journey” called “Revenge of the Savage Planet,” which is due for launch on May 8, 2025. As the launch is on the horizon, the studio’s market effort is in full swing.

The ad takes a jab at Phil Harrison, the then-leader of Stadia

Interestingly, the team chose a billboard near the annual GDC event, taking a dig at Stadia’s death. It’s worth noting that folks over at Video Games Chronicle pointed out the ad. For the uninitiated, it was at the GDC event in 2019 that Google officially launched the Stadia.

As seen in the image below, the billboard ad reads, “Has a Harrison fired you lately?” The developers clearly took a jab at Phil Harrison through the ad. He led Google Stadia at the time it was functioning. There’s also a QR code on the ad, which redirects to a donations page for a mental health organization, with a message that reads, “We got fired by him as well!”

This isn’t the first time makers of the “Savage Planet” have mocked Phil Harrison. Late last year, Ragoon Logic initially mocked Harrison with a new character, which it posted on X. The message there reads, “gunther harrison, your days are numbered!!”