cloud gaming service Google Stadia intent close on january 18, the search giant said in a blog post on Thursday. Google will refund all Stadia gear purchased through the Google Store, as well as any games and add-on content purchased through the Stadia store.
The tech giant aims to complete all refunds by mid-January.
Starting Thursday, Stadia users will still be able to access their game library, including Pro games, if you have an active Pro subscription. In an email to gamers, Google warned that publisher support for games may change and your gaming experience may be affected during the shutdown period (suggesting that some games may disappear early or lose functionality).
It looks like Google didn’t inform many developers about the shutdown prior to the public blog post. Destiny 2 maker Bungie tweeted about Comes with “an action plan” after the announcement. Assassin’s Creed developer Ubisoft plans to allow players who buy their games on Stadia to bring them to PC Via the Ubisoft Connect digital distribution service, it announced Friday.
Although Stadia will close on January 18, 2023, we’re happy to share that we’re working to bring the games you own on Stadia to PC via Ubisoft Connect. We’ll have more to share about specific details as well as the impact on Ubisoft+ subscribers at a later date.
— Ubisoft Support (@UbisoftSupport) 30 September 2022
Google talked to at least one studio (developer of Luxor Evolved Old Skuol) on the repayment of income lost as a result of the sudden change, Axios reported Friday.
Announcing the move, Stadia vice president and general manager Phil Harrison noted Google’s investment in gaming through its Google Play digital distribution service, cloud technology, and YouTube streaming.
“A few years ago we also launched Stadia, a consumer gaming service,” he wrote in the blog post. “And while Stadia’s approach to game streaming for consumers was built on a strong technological foundation, it didn’t get the attention we expected from users, so we made the tough decision to start ending our Stadia streaming service.”
In the blog post, it was stated that many employees on the Stadia team will be reassigned to other roles within Google.
The cloud gaming service launched in November 2019 with a mixed reception.
Watch this:
Playing Google Stadia for the first time
7:03
“Stadia isn’t delivering new games [at the moment], just trying to introduce a new way to play via streaming. One you can get from other providers,” Scott Stein of CNET then he wrote. “Until Google finds a way to loop YouTube and develop truly unique competitive large-scale games, Stadia isn’t worth your time yet.”
although a little solid games in your library, Stadia failed to evolve. Google closed its own development studio He hinted that in 2021 his passion for gaming was moving away from Stadia.
Stadia had plenty too cloud gaming competitionwith xbox, play station, Nvidia and Amazon All offer alternatives.
It wasn’t a complete failure for the company, Harrison said, saying the technology could be applied to YouTube, Google Play and augmented reality projects.
This technology will also be made available to Google’s industry partners. Sony gave its own streaming service a head start in 2015. Buying OnLive’s patents — a early game streaming service — shortly before the closure of the once promising venture.
