2019 Google wanted to revolutionise the gaming market with Stadia. If the gaming platform never found the popularity it had hoped for, four years later it’s over. From January 2023, Stadia will be discontinued.
With the Stadia gaming platform, Google wanted to bring a revolutionary idea to the market. Instead of a gaming PC or a game console, all that was needed for a cosy gaming evening was a TV. The game data was stored on Google’s servers and streamed from there to the device.
However, Stadia never really caught on. According to a survey by Statista on the use of gaming subscription services, Google’s platform ended up in last place. Just 12 per cent of Germans played via Stadia – in comparison: 42 per cent played via PlayStation Plus or Now, 26 per cent via Xbox Game Pass.
FIFA release on Stadia cancelled
After several changes in strategy, it will end on January 18, 2023. Subscribers will still be able to access the service and the games library until then, after which the screen will remain black. It is already no longer possible to buy new games, including the release of FIFA 23. The new part was also planned for Stadia.
“Stadia’s approach to streaming games for consumers, while built on a solid technological foundation, has not been as popular with users as we expected, so we have made the difficult decision to discontinue our Stadia streaming service,” Google manager Phil Harrison said.
As Google informed, customers who have equipped themselves with Stadia controllers via the Google Store and with games as well as expansions via the Stadia Store will receive a refund until mid-January 2023. It is not known how much this will be, whether the full purchase price will be paid out or only a lump sum. Stadia Pro subscriptions are excluded from the refund. Affected players can find further answers in the FAQ.
In the future, the team around Stadia will incorporate the technological ideas of the gaming platform into other areas, such as YouTube or augmented reality. So at least the revolutionary idea lives on.
