Breaking: Google is shutting down Google Stadia

techradar.com:

Google has announced that it is shutting down its game streaming service Google Stadia on January 18th, 2023.

For now players will be able to access their Google Stadia game libraries, but come mid-January they'll lose access to those titles – though the Stadia controller should still work as a wired controller for non-Stdia PC games.

Thankfully, in the official blog post(opens in new tab) about the shutdown Phil Harrison, Google’s Vice President and General Manager of Stadia, said that Google 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.»

Google says it expects to have the «majority» of refunds completed by mid-January, and it has released a page on its help center(opens in new tab) answering questions about how Stadia will work in its final months, and some details about the refund process. Full details haven't been issued yet, but Google has said it will provide more information about how players can get refunds in the coming weeks.

Google Stadia had what could generously be called a rocky start in November 2019, launching in early access without many of the best features that had been promised in promotional material for the service. These included most of its social and multiplayer features like achievements, Crowd Play – which would allow viewers to play with streamers they’re watching – and Family Sharing – which would let families share games.

Yet despite these setbacks, Google promised that it would continue to work on Stadia and make it a gaming platform that players would love as much as their console. 

Even as recently as July 29, 2022, Google told fans in a tweet that “Stadia is not shutting down” saying that