Stadia was boldly named the “Netflix for games” when it first launched in 2019, but just as Netflix is struggling, so is Stadia.
Google has now decided to shut the service down. They reported a lack of “traction” from gamers as the deciding factor behind the move.
Phil Harrison, the vice-president and general manager of Stadia, commented on the decision in a blog post: “And while Stadia’s approach to streaming games for consumers was built on a strong technology foundation, it 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.”
Google vice president and general manager Phil Harrison speaks during the GDC Game Developers Conference on March 19, 2019 in San Francisco, California. Google announced Stadia, a new streaming service that allows players to play games online without consoles or computers. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The service will still be live for a few months and will officially shut down on January 18, 2023. Google has promised refunds to anyone who purchased their Stadia controller or any games or add-on content. These refunds will also be done in mid-January to align with the shutdown of the service.
Stadia was always an ambitious attempt to make a dent in the gaming market. It’s in no way easy to go against the titans of the industry, such as Sony’s Playstation and Microsoft’s Xbox, but we can’t fault Google for giving it a go.
