Google has now announced that the company will shut down its cloud gaming service Stadia in mid-January 2023. Google will refund all hardware purchases, all game purchases, and all purchases of in-app add-on content made through the Stadia store.
Stadia was not as popular with users as Google had hoped, which is why the service is being discontinued. According to the Explanation:
Google has been investing in various areas of the gaming industry for many years. We help developers build and distribute game apps on Google Play and Google Play Games. Game developers reach audiences around the world on YouTube with videos, live streaming, and Shorts. And our cloud streaming technology enables immersive gameplay at scale. A few years ago, we also launched a consumer gaming service, Stadia. While Stadia's approach to streaming games to consumers was built on a strong technological foundation, it didn't resonate with users as much as we expected, so we made the difficult decision to discontinue our Stadia streaming service.
Stadia: Google abandons cloud gaming platform
Players will be able to access and play their game library until January 18, 2023, with Google expecting most refunds to be completed by mid-January.
Some games may experience issues during the fulfillment process, particularly those that require trading, but most games will "continue to function normally." While all hardware purchases and all software transactions will be refunded, Google will not refund Stadia Pro subscriptions.
We offer refunds for all Stadia hardware purchases (Stadia Controller, Founders Edition, Premiere Edition, and Play and Watch with Google TV bundles) made through the Google Store, and software transactions (games and add-on purchases) made through the Stadia Store. Stadia Pro subscriptions are not eligible for refunds, but you can continue playing your games in the Pro version at no additional cost until the final end date.
In advance of the shutdown, the Stadia Store was closed and all commerce on the Stadia platform, including in-game transactions, was suspended. More information about refunds for Stadia users is available found on the Google website. (Photo by Unsplash / Cristiano Pinto)
