Journey To The Savage Planet is broken on Stadia, and Google dissolved the developer who could've fixed it
Update: Google have issued an update that should fix a major bug affecting the game
Update: Google have now issued an update that should resolve a major bug affecting Journey To The Savage Planet. More below.
Journey To The Savage Planet landed on Google Stadia last month, but unfortunately it arrived with a game-breaking bug that makes it unplayable. It's a pretty serious issue that you'd think the developers would be working on ASAP. However, Google are in the process of moving those developers to new roles within the company after shutting down their studios earlier this month, and now nobody seems to know who's supposed to be working on a fix.
Journey To The Savage Planet was made by Typhon Studios, who were bought by Google in 2019. Sadly, the studio was shut down when Google closed down their internal studios just a few weeks ago, which affected around 150 jobs. Though, Google tells us "most" of those developers will be moving on to new roles within the company.
On Stadia, some players are unable to play the game at all because it freezes when they try selecting an option on the main menu. Searching for a fix to this, Reddit user "lordubuntu" contacted both Google and Journey To The Savage Planet's publisher, 505 Games, who both seemed to point the finger at one another to say "that's their problem".
Stadia support said that they should get in touch with 505. However, 505 said that all of the game code and data for Stadia was owned by Google, so there wasn't anything they could do. Furthermore, 505's support said that Google acted as publishers for the game on Stadia because they owned Typhoon Studios, so Google were the only ones that could really solve the problem.
A comment on lordubuntu's thread from a Stadia community manager, who writes: "I understand how frustrating this situation is, and I'm sorry for the delayed update. We're actively working with our partners to identify a fix, and I will do my best to pass updates along."
A similar response on Stadia's Twitter says they're working with their "partner publisher" on a fix. Though, I can't help but wonder who they mean by that. If 505 didn't work on the Stadia version, then surely it can't be them?
I do hope a fix comes for players who've been enjoying the game on Stadia. Our Journey To The Savage Planet review says it's a fun little space romp, and it'd be a shame if one of the handful of games Stadia has remains unplayable.
Update: A Google representative told us in an email that the issues affecting Journey To The Savage have now been fixed. In an update to a Reddit post about the problems, Google says: "This issue should now be resolved. Thanks again for your patience, and please let us know if the issue persists on your end."
The representative also informed us that "the studios that comprise Stadia Games & Entertainment (like Typhoon Studios for Journey To The Savage Planet) are still employed for the time being."
"As mentioned within our initial Feb 1st announcement, 'over the coming months, most of the SG&E team will be moving on to new roles.' That's how this patch was created." I've adjusted the article to reflect this.