As neat an idea as it was, Google Stadia is coming to an end.
Google on Thursday announces that it will shut 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.
The streaming service was unable to gain the traction that the company was expecting, leading to its closure.
Players will be able to access their games library and play through January 18, 2023. During the winding down process, some games may have gameplay issues, especially games requiring commerce, but the majority will “continue to work normally.”
While customers will receive refunds for hardware purchases and all software transactions, Google will not be refunding Stadia Pro subscriptions:
Google offered the following comment:
“We will be offering refunds for all Stadia hardware purchases (Stadia Controller, Founders Edition, Premiere Edition, and Play and Watch with Google TV packages) made through the Google Store and software transactions (games and add-on purchases) through the Stadia store. Stadia Pro subscriptions are not eligible for refund, however you will be able to continue playing your games in Pro without further charges until the final wind down date.”
Ahead of the shutdown, the Stadia store has closed off all commerce on the platform, including in-game transactions.
Google Stadia launched in November of 2019. The service was designed to allow for cloud-based gaming across a range of devices, including PCs, Chromebooks, Macs, iPhones, and iPads.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.