Google Stadia has now officially shut down its servers and access to any of its exclusive titles. However, the shut down seemed to happen over a period of time, with games being taken offline one-by-one. In fact, some people were able to access Stadia games a little after midnight passed on January 19, but it was still short-lived.
Now, when you open Stadia’s website, you get redirected to a page that lets you know that Stadia was shut down on January 18, 2023. In regards to the Stadia Controller, it will have Bluetooth support—so, at least the controller is not totally obsolete.
The Stadia web app also redirects to the same information page and the Android app is dead as well.
The Tumultuous History of Stadia
Google’s Stadia platform was first announced in 2018 and it launched on November 19, 2019. It was meant to be an alternative to traditional console/PC gaming and would allow users to stream video games on any device. The cloud gaming service was unable to retain the user-base Google was hoping for.
With technical issues and a lack of many titles, Stadia was unable to maintain its position in the cloud gaming market.
Amid competition from companies like Microsoft and Nvidia, Google was unable to stay afloat. In 2022, Google was rumored to be planning on shutting down Stadia—a rumor that Google vehemently denied. Then, in an unexpected move, Google announced that Stadia would indeed be shuttering its services in 2023.
Stadia users were refunded for any purchases made through Google, so at least they didn’t lose out totally on their money.
The unfortunate toll befell on game developers who had signed exclusivity contracts with Stadia and lost out on the chance to have people play their titles.
We discussed the shutdown of Stadia back when it was announced. If you’d like to watch that video, check it out below:
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Zainah Yousef
Zainah Yousef is the author of The Fallen Age Saga and specializes in gaming, social media advice, and reviews. She's been writing all her life and she probably won't stop anytime soon.
