Google Shutters Stadia Video Game Service To Cut Costs, Fully Refunding Everyone
Photo 164691720 © ColleenMichaels | Dreamstime.com
Google has cried game over for Stadia, the cloud video gaming service launched in 2019 that the company had been so eager to keep afloat as an answer to the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
The offering, which includes a compatible game controller, will officially shut down on January 18, 2023, according to an announcement by Google.
Until then, users will still be able to access the Google Stadia game library and play its streamable titles.
Refunds will be processed for all Stadia hardware transactions made via the Google Store, as well as all game and add-on content purchases from the Stadia store, says Phil Harrison, Vice President and General Manager of Stadia.
Regretfully, Google Stadia “hasn’t gained the traction with users that we expected,” notes Harrison. “So we’ve made the difficult decision to begin winding down our Stadia streaming service.”
This certainly wasn’t the way Google had expected things to go. According to TechRadar, as recently as July 29, the platform even promised frustrated players that Stadia was “not shutting down.”
“Rest assured we’re always working on bringing more great games to the platform,” Google Stadia said then.
As much as it tried, though, Google could not reach the same level of success met by video game giants—even when it desperately dangled carrots on sticks like free console kits and subscriptions.
With a slowing growth across the board and financial hurdles ahead, Google is finally pulling the plug on Stadia after three years of trying. CEO Sundar Pichai hopes that with the Stadia shutdown, alongside the killing of other projects, efficiency can be up 20%, CNBC reports. For context, Alphabet’s stock price has dipped 34% this year.
Other painful decisions include layoffs, the cancelation of the next generation of Pixelbook laptops, and slashed funding for the Area 120 incubator.
All this will give Google more leeway to focus on its more successful products and services.
But that doesn’t mean Google Stadia has been a lost cause. The company reflects that the things it has learned from building the video game streaming service will be applicable for furthering “other parts of Google like YouTube, Google Play, and our Augmented Reality (AR) efforts,” writes Harrison.
Most refunds for Stadia will be finalized by mid-January, says Google. The tech heavyweight will also disclose more details about how to get your money back over the coming weeks. In the meantime, it has opened a section in its support center to outline Stadia’s final steps.
Players should still be able to use the wired controller for non-Stadia PC games.
[via TechRadar, CNBC, Google, cover photo 164691720 © ColleenMichaels | Dreamstime.com]
