Did we call it or... did we call it?
Google sent out this email on the 29th of September... about the Stadia service shutting down on January 18, 2023. I wanted to hold off as we prepared for Hurricane Ian (yikes). Anyway, here's the actual email from Google if you didn't receive it.
Dear Stadia player,
On September 29, 2022, we announced that the Stadia service will be shut down on January 18, 2023. We’re getting in touch with important information on what this means for you as a Stadia player.
Availability
Stadia will remain available for gameplay until the service is shut down on January 18, 2023. During this period, you will have access to your game library, including Pro games if you had an active Pro subscription as of September 29, 2022. Be aware that publisher support for games may vary, and it’s possible that your gameplay experience may be affected during the shut-down period.
Refunds
Google is offering a refund to Stadia users for Stadia hardware purchases (Stadia Controller, Stadia Founder’s Edition, Stadia Premiere Edition, or Play and Watch with Google TV Package) made on the Google Store, and game purchases and add-on purchases made on the Stadia Store. The refund process will take some time, but we expect to have the majority of refunds processed by January 18, 2023. We expect to be able to automatically issue refunds for a substantial portion of transactions as a credit to the form of payment used to make the purchase. For purchases that we are not able to automatically refund, you will receive an email with details on how to obtain your refund.
Transactions and subscription fees
All commerce functionality (the ability to buy games, new subscriptions, add-ons or in-game purchases) on Stadia has now been disabled. Users who held an active Stadia Pro subscription as of September 29, 2022 will not be charged for access to their Pro library or other subscription entitlements during the shut-down period. Historical Stadia Pro subscription fees will not be eligible for refund.
Your Stadia account and data
You will be able to export your Stadia data, such as profile information, game stats, social data, save files and captures from Google Takeout until the Stadia service shuts down on January 18, 2023, after which point your Stadia data will be permanently deleted. You can also delete Stadia from your Google account at any time or delete your Google account entirely. Please note that deleting your Google account will result in deletion of all data and content in that account, including emails, photos, and files, and may increase the amount of time it takes to receive a refund of your Stadia purchases. Google may however retain certain data, including transaction data, for up to three years following the shut-down of the service for the purposes of processing refunds and providing customer support.
More information is available in the Help Center, which will be updated as new information becomes available.
The Stadia team
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We don't celebrate when people are being laid off for something they had no control over, but... the people on top should have had a bit more foresight on how to approach this. I don't know, maybe Google Play could've had a cloud option so they could sneak it in there without as many expectations, but... there weren't must-play exclusives. Whatever you could play on Stadia, you could play anywhere else, and those other options... came with more options. Even "Get Packed" was similar to "Moving Out". Gylt was ok, but... no.
I think Amazon Luna is the closest in competition to Stadia, but... Amazon has first-party games (i.e. Lost Ark & New World to show for their serious game dev efforts) and took a soft approach for some time with free games, offering free in-game exclusives, etc. Amazon could have made sure that Lost Ark was released first on Luna... but with so many people having a Prime account, it's shrugged off. Google doesn't have an Amazon Prime equivalent.
Twitch is an Amazon platform also (not to say Youtube isn't bigger) but... Amazon utilizes the platform for Luna and those Prime perks also benefit you there. Not to mention, you can stream your Amazon Luna gameplay on Twitch straight from the cloud.
Amazon Luna is included with Prime, just like Prime Music, Prime Video, and so on. Even if they're the basic options to give you a taste of what you could enjoy with a premium plan... you get perks out the wazoo! The games on Amazon Luna at the base level rotate periodically, and you're able to play them from anywhere you have an internet connection. They should have an ultimate plan so that you don't have to decide between retro, family, or their core gaming subscription options only, but... it is what is for now with room for improvement. They should keep exclusives in mind for Luna though if they want to become more competitive.
I mention all the extras because Stadia couldn't touch Amazon Luna... so it definitely didn't have a chance against other platforms like Steam, Xbox, Playstation, and Nintendo.
If you have a Fire TV, a Fire TV Stick (4K Max), the upcoming Fire TV Cube (4K Ultra HD), Fire Tablet, or even your standard mobile device or PC... you can enjoy Amazon Luna. So even if they appear as if they're similar, there are differences. Will Google get out of gaming for good? Well... they still have Google Play, but maybe Stadia was just too ambitious at the moment (plus let's not forget that Nintendo is stepping into the cloud gaming arena too).
