By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - I had to look into why they're offering refunds.
The last time I dedicated an article about Google's Stadia hardware/service (which was in 2021 when they announced they were shutting down Stadia Games and Entertainment, their first-party dedicated development group), I started that off with “I don't know a single person who uses Google's cloud game streaming service, Stadia.” My first instinct in trying to begin THIS article was to begin the same way (because it's still true), but I suppose I should be at least a little more original.
This week, Google announced that the Stadia “hasn't gained the traction with users that we expected so we’ve made the difficult decision to begin winding down our Stadia streaming service.” And interestingly, 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 continue to have access to their games library and play through January 18, 2023 so they can complete final play sessions.” Google then claims to “remain deeply committed to gaming” and that the underlying streaming technology of the Stadia won't be going away, though how exactly it'll manifest in the future wasn't specified.
Interestingly, you don't have to (and CAN'T) return any hardware you purchased to get a refund on that hardware. (No refunds on the monthly Stadia Pro subscription fees.) Because of the nature of the Stadia, your hardware will be literally useless after January 2023, because there won't be any games to be streamed. I'm still not sure how that justifies a refund, and it's a frightening precedent for the industry. Google can afford to refund people on their now-useless product, but if a smaller company went bankrupt because their product failed, I'm sure they couldn't afford to refund anyone.
The last time I dedicated an article about Google's Stadia hardware/service (which was in 2021 when they announced they were shutting down Stadia Games and Entertainment, their first-party dedicated development group), I started that off with “I don't know a single person who uses Google's cloud game streaming service, Stadia.” My first instinct in trying to begin THIS article was to begin the same way (because it's still true), but I suppose I should be at least a little more original.
This week, Google announced that the Stadia “hasn't gained the traction with users that we expected so we’ve made the difficult decision to begin winding down our Stadia streaming service.” And interestingly, 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 continue to have access to their games library and play through January 18, 2023 so they can complete final play sessions.” Google then claims to “remain deeply committed to gaming” and that the underlying streaming technology of the Stadia won't be going away, though how exactly it'll manifest in the future wasn't specified.
Interestingly, you don't have to (and CAN'T) return any hardware you purchased to get a refund on that hardware. (No refunds on the monthly Stadia Pro subscription fees.) Because of the nature of the Stadia, your hardware will be literally useless after January 2023, because there won't be any games to be streamed. I'm still not sure how that justifies a refund, and it's a frightening precedent for the industry. Google can afford to refund people on their now-useless product, but if a smaller company went bankrupt because their product failed, I'm sure they couldn't afford to refund anyone.