Update: Raccoon Logic’s billboard also came with a QR code that could be scanned and that would register and display each person who scanned. The developer went one step further to note that every scan would see them donate money to the Canadian Mental Health Association, of which $6,000 has already been donated.
Original: The Google Stadia debacle has largely faded from recent memory but it remains one of the video game world’s biggest failures. Google spent tons of money committing to the future of streaming technology, buying up IP and developers and seemingly signing a massive letter of intent to stamp its name on the video game world. However, it didn’t work, and after a bad launch, soon afterwards Stadia was shuttered, with its many developers and studios closed down and laid off.
One of these studios was Typhoon Studios, the team that made the Journey to the Savage Planet game, a former Stadia exclusive before eventually debuting elsewhere. After being acquired by Google and handed resources to build a sequel to that title, the studio was closed down, seeing the developers split and start up their own company known as Raccoon Logic, a team that managed to buy back the Savage Planet IP and begin work on the upcoming follow-up, Revenge of the Savage Planet.
Why are we telling you this? Because as part of the Game Developer Conference happening in San Francisco this week, Raccoon Logic has seemingly taken a swipe at former Stadia boss Phil Harrison, as part of a new billboard noticed by VGC that pokes fun at the character Gunther Harrison, CEO of Alta Interglobal, and features the phrase:
“Has a Harrison fired you lately? You might be eligible for emotional support”.
Revenge of the Savage Planet seems to be a very literally named project, as on top of this billboard, the game’s synopsis basically pokes fun at Typhoon Studios’ past and fate and the tribulations that Raccoon Logic faced in continuing work on their own series. The synopsis adds:
“In a future knocked off its axis by corporate greed and stupidity, you have been made redundant and abandoned on the far edge of space with little gear and no safety net. You must explore every nook and cranny, collect dozens of upgrades, and turn over every mysterious alien rock if you want to get revenge on your former employer and return to Earth.”
Revenge of the Savage Planet is coming soon with plans to debut on PC and consoles on May 8. You can see the game’s latest trailer below.