When Google Stadia launched in 2019, it promised more than just new technology. It promised a new way for gamers to connect. For a lot of people, that connection came through Chris, one of Stadia’s two community managers alongside Grace. From 2019 to 2022, he was often the bridge between Google’s engineers and the gamers who wanted to see the platform succeed.
Earlier this year, Chris shared a heartfelt post on the r/Stadia subreddit about his time on the team and the people who made it special. We reached out to Chris and talked about the exciting launches, the challenges that came with the job, and the community moments that still stand out to him. His answers give a rare, behind-the-scenes view of what it was like to help shape the community around one of cloud gaming’s most ambitious projects.
Where you are now, and what have you been up to since leaving Google in 2022?
Since leaving the Stadia team in 2022, I’ve been largely rediscovering how to be happy. I went through some personal challenges, not least of which was making the choice to leave the Stadia team. I’m glad to report I’m in a much better place now. Professionally speaking, I’ve served in a few different roles, all community-facing, but the market for community roles is quite grueling, and I was repeatedly affected by layoffs. I’m currently searching for my next opportunity to build authentic, healthy relationships and community, and quite enjoying the unstructured time.
How did you originally become part of the Stadia community team, and what drew you to the role?
I had left another role at a different tech company a bit before getting contacted by a recruiter who asked if I would be interested in a contract role working on a “gaming product.” Since I was a kid, I’d known I wanted to work in the games industry, so of course I jumped at the opportunity. I have lots of feelings about contract roles, but the opportunity was just too sweet to pass up. Grace delivered what was, and continues to be, the most unique and fun interview I’ve ever been a part of, and I felt an instant connection. I got the good news about a day later as I landed in Europe for a vacation.
You’ve described your time on Stadia as the brightest spot in your career. What made it so meaningful to you?
This is a great question. My career in community management has been a long and winding road. The role on the Stadia team was the first time I felt like I had really “made it.” I was doing exactly what I wanted to do with a great team who liked and appreciated me, and with a community of passionate, kind, funny gamers. I genuinely woke up every day excited to go to work. How many people can say that? I felt so lucky.
The thing that sticks out the most was just how positive and collaborative the Stadia community was. It’s no secret a lot of people outside of the community bore no love for Stadia, but our fans were the best in the world, bar none. I talked with folks every day who just wanted to see Stadia be the best it could be, and they exercised their creativity, kindness, and generosity every day. It was invigorating.
What were some of your most memorable community moments, whether funny, emotional, or chaotic?
Well, obviously launch day comes to mind first. What was supposed to be joyous was, indeed, chaotic. Certain systems were just not functioning optimally (or at all), and we were doing our best to address concerns with the information we had.
I’m also reminded of the Cyberpunk 2077 launch. It wasn’t without its quirks, but it worked. I remember the media outlets begrudgingly giving us our flowers. That felt very vindicating.
Our community play days were always a blast. Playing Cake Bash, Get Packed, Human Fall Flat, Bomberman, Pixeljunk Raiders, and Wreckfest was so much fun. We had different groups each time. Also, when the team played Rainbow Six: Siege against the community (and got slapped), that was hilarious. Exactly the levity we needed.
Were there any community-led initiatives or inside jokes that really stuck with you?
There were so many. For one, I really loved how quickly the community adopted the terms “Dadia” and “Stadian.” The community team petitioned internally to start using “Stadian” officially, and eventually it stuck.
I also laughed at the whole Worm Game thing many times. Worm Game was never meant to see the light of day, but your passion got it to a full release.
We also dearly loved the numerous creators who popped up around Stadia. I wish we could have done more for them. They were not given the proportional amount of love and attention they deserved.
What did a typical day look like for you as a Stadia community manager?
For the record, Grace was the lead on the team, so we usually checked in together each morning and went over whatever high-priority items needed addressing. Sometimes a major issue had cropped up overnight for us that required an official response, so we would sync with other teams to gain clarity on the issue, draft a response, and gain approval for messaging.
On “normal” days, we would check on all of our channels — the Stadia Community Forum, r/Stadia on Reddit, and Discord. If there were any threads or issues we could easily address, we would knock those out and move on. A lot of a community manager’s job is reporting on metrics, so we were often gathering data to put into newsletters and slide decks.
We also managed the Stadia wing of the Google Product Expert Program, which meant communicating with the folks who generously responded to inquiries on the forum, Reddit, and Discord. We had a very close relationship with these volunteers, many of whom were also moderators on those channels.
I was the owner of the blog on the forum, so when Marketing handed over the blog draft, I was responsible for staging it, making last-second edits, and publishing.
What were some of the biggest challenges in the role, especially during uncertain or quiet periods?
The phrasing of this question suggests the answer. The biggest challenge was not when things were chaotic and changing rapidly, at least for me (I do well in chaotic situations), but rather when our fans were waiting around for information that we, ourselves, didn’t have.
Another major challenge was having information that the community was desperately seeking, but being unable to share it for legal or otherwise high-impact reasons. That one really ate at me. I pride myself on transparency and authenticity, and pushed for over-sharing as often as I could, so not being able to directly address community questions aged me a little.
In a recent Reddit post, you mentioned the “uniquely difficult” days. Can you share anything about what made those times hard?
I may have touched on this a bit already, but the community team was often not equipped with the tools or authority to handle certain situations. Community blowback about an announcement made in a blog? That stinks. Let’s gather sentiment data and pass it up the ladder. A negative news cycle comes out? Shoot, can’t comment on that.
Being slightly hamstrung was a frustrating experience, but we did the best with what we had. We often had a wink-wink, nudge-nudge relationship with the community when we couldn’t address something directly.
Was there ever something you wanted to communicate to the community but couldn’t at the time?
This happened more than once. Yes, there were sometimes things I wished to share, but we had our hands tied for any number of reasons. “Project Hailstorm” was one of those things.
You left before Stadia was shut down. How did you feel when Google announced they were shutting down Stadia?
I had been at my new gig for a few months at that time, and the day it happened, I was on a work retreat with the new team. The news dropped as we were waiting for the shuttle to pick us up. I remember feeling a massive wave of grief and sadness. To be totally honest, like the community, I had been led to believe the big G was in it for the long haul, as promised. That left me angry about being put in a position before I left that made me look dishonest. Never did I want to lie to anyone, and as a community manager, it wasn’t only the company’s reputation on the line but mine as well. The whole situation left me distraught, and I definitely didn’t enjoy that day out with my coworkers.
What was it like watching the community react to the shutdown from the outside?
It was heartbreaking. By that time, Grace had also moved on from her role. Dan, who is a great person, was still there. However, I felt like I should have been there to figuratively hold everyone’s hand. I feel like I should have been the one to deliver the news. I wanted to be there for you all.
You and Grace were an amazing team as Google Stadia community managers. What was it like working together on the team?
Grace was a fantastic manager. She was kind, empathetic, funny, bright, and compassionate. She was also a gamer, like me, so we got along instantly. The interview was like a fever dream because I felt like I could sense the pieces fitting together perfectly, and I knew I had gotten the job.
We worked together so well. For how similar we were, we were also different in complementary ways. We both had a great intuition for the audience we were serving, but we had different strengths, and we would tag each other into different situations. We kept each other’s emotions in check and created a beautiful balance.
Being a contractor while she was a full-time employee, I always felt included. You can go online and find thousands of accounts of people who felt like “second-class citizens” while contracting there, but Grace always went out of her way to make me feel valued and cared for. I’ll never forget that.
Any behind-the-scenes memories you’d be comfortable sharing? Maybe moments of laughter or support that meant a lot?
I think being able to see both sides of the community vs. Stadia team R6S matchup was one of my most-cherished memories. Vivi, who was perhaps the kindest and cleverest community member, was the mastermind behind a bunch of the gimmick rounds. My favorite was easily the “Escort the VIP” round, where the team had to get the elected VIP from one side of the map to the other. One of the Stadia team members, a beloved friend and colleague, was casually dropping obscenity during that play session, which was hilarious.
What’s something Stadia did well that you think deserves more credit today?
In my humble opinion, the tech behind Stadia was and continues to be best-in-class. There just isn’t anything quite like it out there. Sorry, Luna, GFN, and others.
I honestly believe that the majority of haters simply didn’t have a good understanding of their own network conditions. Ninety-nine percent of complaints about the functionality of the service stemmed from unstable connections. More people were dropping packets than they realized. It wasn’t just about Mbps; stability actually mattered more.
If you could go back and change one thing about how the community was handled, what would it be?
This is a tough question. I think I would have liked to see us delay launch by maybe another six months. The community just wasn’t ready, in my opinion, at launch. I was embarrassed by some of the community features that were visible and present, which were only there because we were rushed to get it ready by launch day. I think a lot of expectations were mismanaged, and a bit more time and thoughtfulness would have gone a long way to building consumer trust. We wouldn’t have had to start at such a disadvantage.
Since leaving Stadia, have you thought about working in cloud gaming again? How do you see the space now, and what do you hope the community remembers you for?
Absolutely. If other cloud platforms are half as fun as Stadia was, sign me the heck up. I still follow some of the news, but truthfully, I don’t keep up much. I don’t have a subscription to other services. I’ve honestly been gaming less this summer due to other interests and personal reasons.
That’s very kind of you to say. I hope I’m remembered as someone who genuinely cared. Cared about the product, cared about the community, and cared about the humans who made both happen.
Any final words you’d like to share with the Stadia fans or those following cloud gaming in 2025?
Never let cynicism win. Find joy in connection. Be kind and support the things and people you love. Play unites us all, and there’s no wrong way to enjoy games. Stadia for life, and may we cross paths again.
More Than a Service: How Stadia Shaped and continues to shape Cloud Gaming
For me, this conversation with Chris lands on a deeply personal level. wasn’t just covering Stadia from the outside. I was part of the community too, co-hosting events and discussions. I helped with the Caring From The Clouds charity stream and spent hours talking with Chris, Grace, and other fans about games, glitches, and everything in between. Along the way, I made so many lifelong friends because of Stadia.
Reading his reflections brought back those moments vividly. The launch day chaos, the Cyberpunk 2077 rollout, community lingo like Stadian, and the surprise success of Worm Game. These weren’t just stories for me. I lived them alongside the rest of the community. And like Chris, I saw how passion and humour pulled us all through the uncertainty.
Although Stadia’s servers are offline now, what Chris shared still matters for cloud gaming’s future. Things like building trust, supporting creators, and staying real with fans aren’t just nice ideas, they’re essential. Chris and Grace lived that daily. It’s why so many of us remember them as more than just “community managers.”
What about you? Were you part of the Stadia community, or did you follow its journey from the sidelines? Share your memories or thoughts in the comments. We’d love to hear your stories.
As always, remember to follow us on our social media platforms (e.g., Threads, X (Twitter), Bluesky, YouTube, and Facebook) to stay up-to-date with the latest news. This website contains affiliate links. We may receive a commission when you click on these links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you. We are an independent site, and the opinions expressed here are our own.
Awesome article! Thank you, Jon and Cloud Dosage.
Amazing article Jon and Chris! Love reminiscing. Stadia for life!