Stadia: Difference between revisions

Launched in November 2019, Stadia was the first cloud gaming service with a storefront. Its storefront was abruptly shut down for users in September 2022 without notice, and the entire service shuttered in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Robertson |first=Joshua |date=30 Sep 2022 |title=Google Stadia's Storefront Has Already Been Shut Down |url=https://www.thegamer.com/google-stadias-storefront-already-shut-down/ |url-status=live |access-date=8 May 2025 |website=TheGamer}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Thank you for playing with us. Stadia was shut down on January 18, 2023. |url=https://stadia.google.com/gg/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260222154300/https://stadia.google.com/gg/ |archive-date=22 Feb 2026|access-date=2025-10-20 |website=Stadia}}</ref> As the shutdown of the service meant users who made purchases on the platform could not play the products they paid for, Google refunded purchases of both hardware and software for the platform,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bradshaw |first=Kyle |date=29 Sep 2022 |title=Google Stadia is shutting down in January, all purchases will be refunded |url=https://9to5google.com/2022/09/29/google-stadia-shutting-down/ |url-status=live |access-date=8 May 2025 |website=9to5google.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-08 |title=Stadia Announcement FAQ |url=https://support.google.com/stadia/answer/12790109 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260221143154/https://support.google.com/stadia/answer/12790109 |archive-date=21 Feb 2026|website=Stadia Help}}</ref> however many platform-exclusive titles<ref>{{Cite web |last=@SFBTom |date=29 Sep 2022 |title=Tangle Tower was due to launch on Stadia in 2 days time, and this article was the first I heard about it shutting down 😢 |url=https://x.com/SFBTom/status/1575558078367690752 |url-status=live |access-date=8 May 2025 |website=[[X]]}}</ref><!--Someone archive this tweet so users can read it without potentially needing an account--> were never re-released,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schoon |first=Ben |date=22 Dec 2022 |title=What’s the plan for Stadia exclusive games? Here’s what we know so far |url=https://9to5google.com/2022/12/22/stadia-exclusive-games/ |url-status=live |access-date=8 May 2025 |website=9to5google.com}}</ref> so users couldn't reliably replace the software that they paid for.  

When Stadia launched, consumers could purchase a controller specifically meant to function only for the Stadia service. After the shutdown, Google granted users a limited time to update the firmware on their controllers. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Mustafa |first=Mahmoud |date=2024-12-10 |title=You now have one extra year to update your Stadia Controller’s firmware |url=https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/mustafa-mahmoud/you-now-have-one-extra-year-to-update-your-stadia-controllers-firmware/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251203120413/https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/mustafa-mahmoud/you-now-have-one-extra-year-to-update-your-stadia-controllers-firmware/ |archive-date=3 Dec 2025|website=KitGuru.net}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Stadia Bluetooth mode |url=https://stadia.google.com/controller/index_en_GB.html |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250907062854/https://stadia.google.com/controller/index_en_GB.html |archive-date=7 Sep 2025|access-date=2025-10-20 |website=Stadia}}</ref> On ''January 1st, 2025'', users could no-longer update their controllers to use "Bluetooth mode",<ref name=":0" /> as Google stopped hosting the update data on their services. Later the EOL date was extended to December 31, 2025, though in January 2026 a version of the web tool by Christopher Klay was made available.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://chromeunboxed.com/the-official-stadia-bluetooth-site-is-gone-but-theres-still-a-way-to-update-your-controller/|title=The official Stadia Bluetooth site is gone, but there’s still a way to update your controller|first=Joseph|last=Humphrey|date=2026-01-23|work=Chrome Unboxed|access-date=2025-01-23}}</ref>