TECH NEWS – It has been officially confirmed that the Google Stadia video game streaming service will be shut down; users will lose access to their games.

Google’s Stadia streaming service is officially shutting down, and while users will get a refund on their purchases, they will lose access to their games. Although rumours had been circulating for a few months that Google might be preparing to shut down the service, we find it hard to believe that they’ve finally got away with it.

The bad news is that Google Stadia users will lose access to games and DLCs purchased through the service or requested through Stadia’s free games program.

The “good” news is that Google will at least refund Stadia users for purchases made through the Google Store, and most of the refunds are expected to be completed by mid-January 2023. This will coincide with the service’s shutdown date, as Google has confirmed that Stadia will shut down on 18 January 2023.

The Stadia technology will continue to be used by Google for YouTube, Google Play and augmented reality projects. Google also plans to make Stadia technology available to other game developers. Many employees working on Google’s Stadia team will be transferred to other parts of the company.

The Google Stadia shutdown date is 18 January 2023.

Google Stadia got off to a flying start with well-received multiplatform titles such as Destiny 2, Mortal Kombat 11, Red Dead Redemption 2 and other games. Among its launch games was the exclusive GYLT as a more family-friendly take on the survival horror genre. GYLT received mixed reviews upon release, but there may still be some people who will want to give it a try. Unfortunately, GYLT is not yet available on other platforms, so if you’ve ever wanted to try it, here’s your last chance.

The fact that Google is refunding players for purchasing Stadia hardware and software is fair enough, but many will still be rightly annoyed that they have lost access to their game. It serves as a grim reminder of the downside of digital gaming. There is always the chance that these companies will shut down their online services, and players will lose access to their game libraries.

Google Stadia’s vision for a future of console-free, cloud-based gaming was ambitious, but it seems that gamers were not ready to take the leap.

However, cloud gaming will continue to be part of the public discourse, as it is a crucial feature of services such as Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus.

Source: Google

Stadia players, find an important update on Stadia here: https://t.co/IIFRYiIYUu

— Stadia ☁️🎮 (@GoogleStadia) September 29, 2022