Google Stadia has come to an end following an announcement from Google on Sept. 29.
The video game streaming platform has consistently struggled to carve out a portion of the gaming market that’s worthy of the cost Google has put into it, and the tech giant is finally pulling the plug. The service and its servers will be shut down on Jan. 18, 2023.
“While Stadia’s approach to streaming games for consumers was built on a strong technology foundation, it hasn’t gained the traction with users that we expected so we’ve made the difficult decision to begin winding down our Stadia streaming service,” Stadia VP and general manager Phil Harrison said.
For the dedicated few that have invested more than just their time into Stadia, Google is offering refunds for the majority of Stadia-related purchases. Here’s a full dive into what kind of refunds are being offered, and how those refunds can be acquired.
How to receive a refund for Stadia purchases
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. All existing pre-orders for future products or games will be canceled and refunded automatically.
Stadia Pro subscriptions will not be refunded, but users who actively hold a Pro subscription before Sept. 29 can access their Pro library until the shutdown period at no additional cost. Hardware purchased at physical locations like the Google Store or Best Buy will not be able to be returned or refunded.
There are currently two ways to get a Stadia refund. The first is to request a refund on the mobile app or web browser:
- Sign into the Stadia app or go to stadia.com
- Click your Stadia avatar, located in the top right
- Click on “Purchase & Subscriptions”
- Under the transaction history, tap on the item you want to return for a refund
- Click on “request refund”
The second option is to request a refund by contacting the Stadia customer support center, which can be reached here.
Users who purchased items with either a gift card or a payment method that is no longer in use will be able to choose a new form of payment in order to receive a refund.
