Google has announced it will discontinue its cloud gaming service Stadia, which launched in November 2019 and has been dubbed Netflix for games because it allowed players to stream games online without owning a console.
Due to a lack of popularity with players, the service will now end on January 18, 2023, and Google has promised a refund to players who purchased its Stadia controller, as well as any games or add-on content from or before mid-January.
“A few years ago, we also launched a consumer gaming service, Stadia and despite Stadia’s strong technological 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,” said Phil Harrison, vice president and general manager of Stadia.
Stadia games, Google’s attempt to enter the high-paying gaming market, were run on servers in Google data centers around the world and transmitted to a TV or mobile device.
It then went beyond just streaming games and included its own custom hardware, but it has now joined the list of Google brands that have left this world for the great Google cloud in the sky.
The source for this piece includes an article in BBC.