Google has announced that they are shutting down their cloud gaming platform by January of 2023. Stadia will continue to run until then but no new purchases will be allowed through their store. Furthermore, refunds will be issued to customers who have bought hardware or have made purchases through Stadia’s store.
Stadia launched in November of 2019 and pioneered the cloud gaming platform change. Companies like Microsoft and Amazon followed suit with their own cloud gaming services. Since the service’s inception, however, there has always been one major hurdle and that’s Internet speeds and availability.
High-speed, reliable Internet in the US is still a commodity, despite recent plans by the Federal government to improve infrastructure. The argument for cloud gaming is the ability to play games without buying expensive hardware. However, some of these same customers may not be able to afford, or even have access, to the Internet needed for a seamless gaming experience.
Leading up to this announcement, there was conflicting information on the health of the service. On one hand, Google had announced continued support and development for the service. On the other, they also closed down their gaming studio which would have bolstered their gaming library. The latter indicated to the industry that Stadia was in big trouble.
In their blog post, Google has signaled that the technology developed for Stadia will be incorporated into other products. Additionally, many Stadia employees will be reassigned into other segments of the company. At the same time, Google still plans to be a part of the gaming sphere through YouTube, supporting creators.