The gaming subscription service will wind down after performing poorly on the market
Google Stadia, the gaming subscription service powered by Google, will be stopping its service completely in January 2023. This was announced in a statement given by Phil Harrison, Vice President and General Manager, Stadia.
Stadia is a subscription service that allows users to play video games on a cloud. Akin to how users can access their documents, spreadsheets, and presentations using Google Drive, Stadia was a way to purchase and play games instantly on a cloud service without the need to download them on a laptop or any other compatible device. Regular users could play from a vast library for a set period of time. There was also Stadia Pro which allowed customers to purchase games and play them as they wished with access to their library of games as long as they were subscribers. First launched in 2019, Stadia was met with a lot of excitement but would eventually dwindle in popularity.
In the blog post, Harrison claimed that while Google is still very committed to gaming and the space it occupies, the Stadia service is no longer sustainable and will be shutting down. Harrison stressed that this winding up has nothing to do with the technology that Stadia is powered, which he insists is top-notch and still very useful well beyond the gaming sphere.
The blog also announced that it would be providing refunds to players who have purchased hardware from the Google Store or in-app purchases on the Stadia store. It is expected that most refunds will be done by the middle of January 2023.
Google claims that it is not giving up on the gaming space and that this move simply represents a pivot. Google has some other gaming platforms like Google Play and Google Play Games, which are both still very successful.
The end of Google Stadia is unfortunate for a service that came out with so much promise. Google Stadia featured some top fighting games, including Mortal Kombat 11 and Samurai Showdown.
Users will still be able to access their games up until January next year, so they have a chance to play a final time and say goodbye properly.
It remains to be seen how this affects the implementation of such technology in the future.