The Stadia cloud gaming service will be discontinued by Google as of today, with access ending in mid-January 2023. All Stadia store purchases of hardware, games and in-app additional material will all be eligible for refunds from Google. Stadia has reached its completion, 2.5 years after it was first announced live at GDC. With the help of Google’s Chromecast streaming device, users could stream and play games on smartphones, web browsers, and other devices. Stadia provided an experience comparable to that of a console without the hardware that took up space.
In a blog post published on Thursday, Stadia vice president and general manager Phil Harrison stated that the online gaming service “hasn’t gained the traction with users that we expected.” Stadia had earlier shown signs of trouble. In 2021, Google stated that it would no longer produce games for its Stadia platform. Other tech companies’ gaming strategies have also had to be rethought. Facebook stated last month that its own Gaming App would be discontinued this fall.
Google had not acknowledged the service’s previous issues. The company stated simply, “Stadia is not shutting down,” in a late-July 2022 tweet. Rest assured that we are constantly working to add more outstanding games to Stadia Pro and the platform.” Google, on the other hand, was aggressively pursuing an audience-building strategy by providing trial periods lasting months.
Harrison stated that Google remains “deeply committed to gaming” despite the service’s closure. Harrison claims that Google intends to incorporate some of the technology behind Stadia into other products. Harrison claims that some of the employees who remained on the Stadia team will be promoted to new positions within Google.
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