Google Stadia streaming game service ends in 2023

Launched in November 2019 in the international market (Brazil was left out from beginning to end of the platform), Google Stadia already has a date for its services to be completely deactivated: January 18, 2023.

The news was shared through Phil Harrison, Vice President and General Manager of Stadia , with the justification that “the idea didn’t get the traction the company had hoped for.” Understand possible reasons, status of current subscriptions and other information about the end of the game subscription platform.

The end that much of the gamer community expected

Conceived to allow PC owners with more basic hardware to play big releases and titles, the idea was simple: allow subscribers to participate in titles that required a powerful computer or next-gen console. These were the titles available at the launch of the subscription platform:

• Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey ;
• Attack on Titan: Final Battle 2 ;
• Destiny 2: The Collection (on Stadia Pro service) ;
• Farming Simulator 2019 ;
• Final Fantasy XV ;
• Football Manager 2020 ;
• Grid 2019 ;
• Gylt ;
• Just Dance 2020 ;
• Kine ;
• Metro Exodus ;
• Mortal Kombat 11 ;
• NBA 2k20 ;
• Rage 2 ;
• Rise of the Tomb Raider ;
• Red Dead Redemption 2 ;
• Samurai Shodown (on the Stadia Pro service) ;
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider ;
• Thumper ;
• Tomb Raider ;
• Trials Rising ;
• Wolfenstein: Youngblood .

The price to access the catalog, which has never been as broad as competitors like PSNow and Xbox Game Pass , was US$9.99 or R$53.93 in direct conversion. And everything was only available in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

Titles like Cyberpunk 2077 , Doom: Eternal ,  WatchDogs: Legion and  Gods & Monsters were added after a while, but gamers never felt safe or wanted to have an active subscription for that long. It was possible to enjoy the games on smartphones, tablets, PCs and even smart TVs.

Despite rumors that the platform would be discontinued as early as 2021 after the studio aimed at developing its own games was closed , Google has always denied it, but that changes with the new post made by Phil Harrison on the company’s blog. He cites that the purposes the company had with the game subscription service were never achieved and that it will be better if everything is discontinued.

While Stadia’s approach to consumer game streaming was built on a strong technological foundation, the platform did not gain the traction with users we had hoped for, so we made the difficult decision to terminate the service.

Phil Harrison, Vice President and General Manager of Stadia

Harrison announced that all employees involved in the demands will be redirected to other sections of the company and that the same technologies can be used on other fronts of Google , such as YouTube , Google Play and Augmented Reality (AR ) efforts . Partners developing technologies for services like these will also have access to source codes for future game development.

Refund for Google Stadia customers

With the end decreed, all people who still have an active subscription to the service will receive a refund as a way to avoid further damage. Another snippet from Phil Harrison’s post cites that all people who purchased the Stadia controller will receive a refund and return to the company will not be necessary.

A page with questions and answers was created for those who have an active subscription to Google Stadia so that now, former customers, can ask their questions. Google has already stopped allowing new subscriptions to be created on its platform and the process of reversing payments must be completed by January 18, 2023.

Did you believe that the gaming platform would be closed in such a short time? Tell us in the comments !

Source: Google Blog

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How much does Google Stadia cost in Brazil?

Keep your Stadia Pro subscription for $9.99/month¹ to keep playing these games and claim more games every month to add to your collection.