Google shutting down Stadia surprised developers, as they found out at the same time as the public. The frustration of the developers was not the only issue of this recent decision by Google, as players will now have to find ways to continue their games on other platforms, or unfortunately have to purchase those games again and start all over in their progress. In the case of Cyberpunk 2077, the developers have come forth with answers that have eased these concerns.
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Google is offering refunds to players, but depending on what game it is, the time players put in may be lost. However, on the CD Projekt RED support page, the developers of Cyberpunk 2077 explain how a program called “Google Takeout” is used to move game data off the Cloud and onto the user’s PC, and it’s broken down into a step-by-step process.
To summarize, this program allows users to download archived versions of data to be extracted to separate folders, those files can then be copied and pasted into dedicated paths for Cyberpunk 2077. This method is mostly used for PC players, meaning that a PC version of the game must be purchased first. This method can also be used for Xbox and PlayStation via cross-progression through player GOG accounts, assuming players also have a copy of the game on console and the cross-platform setting is turned on.
Although Stadia will allow users to take their saved data using Google Takeout, it will be up to developers whether players will be able to implement those saves into the PC version of their games. Thankfully, the Cyberpunk 2077 developers offered a solution, and other developers have also taken the initiative in their own way, such as how Ubisoft is assisting Stadia players with bringing their games to PC.
Despite a popular concept, the future of Cloud gaming remains uncertain, and while some games work well enough on Game Pass, the mobile streaming service still leaves a lot to be desired. Time will tell if Xbox can pick up the slack so that Cloud gaming can bounce back.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, PC, and Stadia.
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Source: Polygon
