Google Stadia just sweetened the pot for game developers

Google today announced that it’s going to be implementing some changes on the business side of Stadia. These changes are being implemented to sweeten the pot for developers, so to speak, as Google is attempting to get more developers to put more games on the streaming service. First and foremost, Google has announced that it will give developers a more enticing revenue split until their games reach a certain sales threshold.

More specifically, Google says that it will launch a new revenue-sharing program for newly-signed games. Any game launching on Google Stadia after October 1st, 2021 will be subject to an 85%/15% revenue split for the first $3 million in sales it pulls in. After that, the revenue split will presumably revert to the industry standard of 70%/30%.

All new games launching on Google Stadia will be subject to this improved revenue split through the end of 2023, so it’ll be available for two years and three months before Google goes back to its usual split. Unfortunately for those who have already signed with Google Stadia, it doesn’t sound like this new revenue split is retroactive.

In addition to announcing its new revenue sharing program for Stadia game sales, Google also announced a revenue sharing program for games that are offered for free through Google Stadia Pro. Google will shared70% of Stadia Pro subscription revenue with developers of “active and claimable” games on Stadia Pro, splitting it up based on player engagement. On top of that, Google is also launching a new affiliate program that will let Stadia Pro developers share links to their games and get paid $10 for each user who clicks that link and then later converts a free trial membership to a paid one.

When it comes to attracting developers, Google Stadia is already working from behind against the more established gaming platforms out there, so the hope is clearly that these new perks will make developers want to bring their games to Stadia. These new programs were announced during the Google for Games Developer Summit Stadia keynote, which you can see embedded above.