If you’re a gamer, it won’t be news to hear that Google Stadia is shutting down. Google announced the news recently, saying that access to the cloud gaming service will likely end in 2023 – mid-January.
The good news is all Stadia store purchases of hardware, games, and in-app supplemental material will all be eligible for refunds from Google.
So what does Google Stadia closing mean for gamers?
Well, if you’re a fan of Google Stadia, you’ll need to find another platform to play your games on. There are plenty of other options, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding one that suits your needs.
If you’re not a fan of Google Stadia, this news won’t affect you too much. However, it’s always sad to see a gaming platform close down, especially one that showed so much promise.
Google Stadia was first announced in June 2019 and launched in November that year. It promised to revolutionise gaming by allowing gamers to play without the need for expensive gaming hardware.
However, the service never took off, and Google has decided to pull the plug. Google says it will focus on other gaming areas, such as its YouTube Gaming platform.
So why did Google Stadia really fail?
There are a few reasons. One is that Google didn’t promote the service enough. But the main reason was that there needed to be more decent titles on the platform. Google did manage to secure some big names, such as Destiny 2, but most gamers weren’t willing to switch to a new platform just for one or two games.
Stadia had some great features, like letting you play its games on any device, from a phone to a web browser, as long as you had a controller to hand. It liberated gaming from a home sport on expensive consoles and PCs.
What are Google Stadia’s best-selling titles?
To give you an idea of what gamers were up against, here’s a list of the best-selling titles:
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.
- Destiny 2.
- Red Dead Redemption 2.
- Metro Exodus.
- Rise of the Tomb Raider.
- Mortal Kombat 11.
Are you bored? We certainly are. These games were okay a few years back, but now they are Soooo 2019. Yes, there are some new titles launched in 2020 and 2021, but real progress has been painfully slow.
The Google Stadia shutdown means they will cancel any new titles currently in development. So if you were looking forward to playing the next Assassin’s Creed or Destiny game on Stadia, you’re out of luck.
Google has said it will continue to support its other gaming products and services. But it’s hard to see how they can compete with the likes of PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo.
What do serious gamers want?
There needed to be more than great cloud servers to save Stadia. The fact is serious gamers don’t want to play on the tube or even on their work lunch break. They want to play at home, on a big screen, with the best graphics and sound possible.
Google’s promise that Stadia would replace consoles and PCs one day didn’t ring true. Were they behind the times? Some say yes. Google might have gotten too big for its boots on this one.
Double pay stopped Stadia in its tracks
The other problem was that Google asked gamers to pay for games they might already own on another platform, like PlayStation or Xbox. That didn’t go down well.
It’s a dam shame Google Stadia is shutting down. It did have potential. But in the end, it just couldn’t live up to the hype.
What’s next for Google gamers?
Google says it will focus on other gaming areas, such as its YouTube Gaming platform. So there’s still hope for Google gamers yet. Google may come back to the cloud gaming world one day.
To be honest, it’s unlikely Google will slink off like a flea-ridden dog for a while and come back with another dubious scheme. Who knows? We will have to wait and see.
Conclusion
While there might be a tiny bit of satisfaction seeing Stadia go to the wall, it’s a shame for the hundreds of developers whom Google has employed. They now must find new jobs or distribution deals in a notoriously tricky industry.
All this proves that having tons of cash won’t always mean success in a cloud-based streaming service. In fact, we would go as far as to say that only Microsoft has made it work with Xbox Game Pass.
Still, Microsoft invested millions before it saw any great returns. Of course, no one can come close to touching the might of Microsoft, so it will be interesting to see if anyone else takes up the challenge and attempts to dethrone the gaming giant in the gaming world. Only time will tell.
So if you’re a Google Stadia fan, make the most of it while you can. The clock is ticking…
