Google shuts down the Stadia project. Players stay on the ice? Not necessarily. Pads will not go to the trash

Google Stadia is a service that for over two years allowed you to play almost any game without having to buy a console or a computer. Of course, it was necessary to register for the service (or pay a subscription in the case of the Pro version), buy the game and equip yourself with a controller, but you could even play on a smartphone or TV connected to Wi-Fi.

Google shuts down the Stadia project. On January 18, it will shut down the servers

Stadia was supposed to be a breakthrough in the gaming industry, but now it’s going through history. Google announced in September 2022 that it would close the service and this date is approaching inexorably. Google Stadia will be disabled on January 18, which is next Wednesday. From that date, you will no longer be able to access your game library.

So what will happen to the purchased games and the progress made in the game? Unfortunately, these will be lost. Google explains that everything here depends on the game publishers and in the case of some titles it will actually be possible to transfer the games or their progress to another platform. Otherwise, Google is to refund the money for them.

Google Stadia is going down in history photo screenshot from https://stadia.google.com/

Google promises that all players who purchased the Stadia Pro service after September 28, 2022 will also refund the subscription costs (of course, from that date). What’s more, the company will also give money for the purchase of Stadia controllers (if they were bought in the Google Store), which – interestingly – will not have to be physically returned to Google.

The controllers will not go to the trash. Google is preparing an update

Normally, the controller after January 18 would be useless anyway, because it used Wi-Fi to connect to the service. Theoretically, you can connect it to a computer by wire, but today hardly anyone will choose this option. However, Google is working on a change that will make the controllers not go to the trash. The Internet giant plans to programmatically unlock the Bluetooth module in the controllers, so that it is possible to connect the pad wirelessly to third-party devices.

For now, it is only known that the appropriate tool with instructions is to appear later this week. What’s more, Google released a farewell Worm Game on Friday that resembles the classic snake. As the Stadia team explains, both gifts are a form of thanks for using the disabled service.