Welcome back to Tech Shelter. Google today announced that it is shutting down its Stadia cloud gaming service, with access set to end in mid-January 2023. Google will be providing refunds for all hardware purchases, all game purchases, and all purchases of in-app add-on content made through the Stadia store. Stadia was not able to gain the traction with users that Google was expecting, which is why it is being shuttered.
Players can access their games library and play through January 18, 2023, with Google expecting most refunds to be complete in mid-January. During the winding down process, some games may have gameplay issues, especially games requiring commerce, but the majority will "continue to work normally." While all hardware purchases and all software transactions will be refunded, Google is not refunding Stadia Pro subscriptions. Ahead of the shutdown, the Stadia store has been shuttered and all commerce on the Stadia platform, including in-game transactions, has ended. More information on refunds for Stadia users can be found on Google's website. Google Stadia has only been around since 2019, having launched in November of that year. The service was designed to allow for cloud-based gaming across a range of devices, including PCs, Chromebooks, Macs, iPhones, and iPads. In related news, After fourteen months, Google has decided it doesn’t want to be a game company anymore. Where once it had its own cloud-based console, controller, and the promise of homegrown triple-A games, it no longer wants to build its own games as of today. And though a Google spokesperson emphasizes that the company continues to “remain committed to Stadia as a platform,” it’s looking increasingly likely that platform won’t be a service where you sign up with Google to buy and rent cloud games.
