Google has announced the shutdown of its Stadia cloud gaming service early next year.
It was launched three years ago and allows gamers to stream games to their TV, laptop or phone without needing a console.
But Google said it made the “difficult decision” because it hadn’t “gained the traction with users we expected”.
The Stadia store is now closed and users who purchased hardware, games and add-on content will be refunded, boss Phil Harrison said in a blog post.
However, Stadia Pro subscriptions cannot be refunded.
“Players will continue to have access to their game library and play until January 18, 2023 so they can complete the last game sessions,” he said.
“We expect the majority of refunds to be made by mid-January 2023.”
Last year Stadia shut down its own in-house game development unit, but insisted the platform was “alive and alive” with over 100 games launching – that was until the end of 2019. announcement this week.
Google said it remains “deeply committed to the game” and will “continue to invest in new tools, technologies and platforms.”
