Google remains one of the most profitable and powerful companies in the world. Still, it’s not immune to unsuccessful ventures. Pushing the desire to lead cloud-based gaming, Google launched its online gaming platform Stadia in November of 2019. Unfortunately, it seems things just didn’t work out as hoped. Google has just announced that Stadia will be shutting down next year. The platform failed to make a significant impact as a streaming provider or as a platform for independent developers. And sadly, the matter only gets more complicated from there.
Google Stadia Is Shutting Down
Google is known for providing numerous services — so many that people rely on the company without second thought. Due to its significant web presence, the company decided to shift towards promoting cloud-based gaming. It created the Stadia platform to lead the way forward. However, though the platform started with decent support from studios like Ubisoft, it failed to compete with other streaming services. That’s why Stadia will be shutting down in January of next year.
To put it simply, Stadia could not give players enough of what they wanted. Though it launched in 2019 and opened a studio to make exclusive titles for Stadia, this was shut down within a year and so the platform had to turn exclusively to third-party developers for new titles.
This decision comes at a time when Google is announcing its plans for the future with an emphasis on cutting back costs and limiting its project scope.
Though Stadia only lasted around three years, it was not completely without value. By all accounts, the software designed for Stadia’s streaming proved to be very impressive and effective. However, it wasn’t enough to keep players interested. After all, the service was only as effective as the individual’s internet connection.
The silver lining is that this software will be repurposed across Google’s other services, and may even be reserved for whatever the company has planned in the future. It will also continue to push and promote cloud-based gaming by supporting other streaming services.
Google Stadia was a huge experiment from the tech company that just didn’t pan out. The team created high-quality tech for fast and responsive streaming, but it means nothing if users can’t play what they want. Stadia will officially shut down on January 18, 2023, and all purchases will be refunded to buyers.
