The latest victim is Google, which will shut down its Stadia cloud gaming service and refund players.
We expect to have the majority of refunds completed by mid-January, 2023.
In addition, Google has disabled all in-game commercial transactions.
However, most games will continue to play as normal.
Gamers will not have to return the refunded hardware, so this is a total loss for Google.
Stadia Pro subscriptions are not eligible for refund, but gamers will not have to pay any further charges.
Why Is Google Killing Stadia?
Although there areseveral reasons why cloud gaming shouldn’t become mainstream, there are specific reasons why Stadia failed.
In other words, Stadia launched without the ability to play against or collaborate with family and friends.
First impressions are everything, especially in the gaming community.
Once word got around that Stadia was launching without these key features, gamers did not sign up.
Secondly, if your internet connection is unreliable, your gaming experience is unreliable.
Weak Games Library
Stadia launched without strong exclusive titles.
Blockbuster titles like Minecraft and Fortnite were not interested in Stadia as they were already available elsewhere.
As a result, few gamers were attracted to Stadia.
Stadia never stood a chance.
Google’s Failure Won’t Stop Others
Google’s failure will not deter others from trying.
There’s just too much money to be made from gaming.
The latest big tech entrant is Netflix which has established its own gaming studio in Finland.
Will Netflix avoid the gaming graveyard that has claimed many of its big tech counterparts and find lasting success?
Only time will tell.
