Google will officially shut down the streaming service that was often touted as the ‘Netflix’ for games.
The games industry is an unpredictable and difficult beast. In a new blog post from Phil Harrison, Vice President and General Manager of Stadia, has learned this the hard way. The Stadia service, after having been active for 3 years, has supposedly not “gained the traction with users that we expected”. This has therefore led to Google’s decision to “begin winding down our Stadia streaming service”. The service will officially be shut down on January 18th, 2023.
Google has also stated that they will be “refunding all Stadia hardware purchases made through the Google Store, and all game and add-on content purchases made through the Stadia store.” Players will still be able to continue to play their games until the official shutdown date in January.
Despite the end of the Stadia, however, the end of this statement seems to insinuate that the company is not finished in the gaming sphere. Phil Harrison stated that “We remain deeply committed to gaming, and we will continue to invest in new tools, technologies, and platforms that power the success of developers, industry partners, cloud customers, and creators.” How this commitment manifests itself only time will tell, but it is at least telling that Google may invest in the future of the games industry.
What do you think of the breaking news? Are you saddened that the Google Stadia will shut down? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below. Here at GamesCreed, we cover everything gaming. From the latest news to stellar reviews, GamesCreed has you covered.
