Google has started processing refunds for its cloud gaming service Stadia, the company confirmed. Stadia users who are eligible to get (some of) their money back should stay on top of their inboxes, as all pertinent information will be sent via email in the coming days. That said, there are still some limitations as to who exactly is entitled to a refund.The rise and fall of Google Stadia is a fairly short-lived affair, as the Alphabet-owned company went from announcing the cloud gaming service to announcing its termination in less than three years. Stadia servers will be shutting down globally on January 18, 2023. In the meantime, Google committed to a fairly comprehensive refund plan, covering everything from game and DLC purchases to third-party subscriptions bought through the Stadia Store. Rolling Stadia Pro subscriptions are not eligible for a refund, as the 4K streaming service will remain usable until early next year.According to a newly updated customer support page, the Stadia refund process is mostly automated. Google will first attempt to issue refunds via whatever credit card company, bank, or other service was used to send the payments eligible for reimbursement in the first place. Should that fail for whatever reason, the automated system will email the affected user, prompting them to add a different payment method to their account before it makes another attempt at processing the refund.
Google is asking customers for patience while this process runs its course, stressing that contacting its customer service agents will not help expedite individual refund claims. The Internet giant expects that the majority of eligible refunds will be successfully processed by the time Google Stadia officially shuts down in mid-January. Anyone who is still waiting for reimbursement beyond the end-of-service date can contact customer support for an update on their case.
While Google seems committed to doing right by it customers during this sunset period, the company's partners may be a way tougher crowd to please. Since the Stadia shutdown took many developers by surprise, it's likely that Google burned some bridges with its failed cloud gaming service, especially given its long history of product abandonment.
Looking at the bigger picture, Stadia's death doesn't exactly inspire confidence in the future of cloud gaming. If a multi-billion conglomerate with world-class infrastructure and engineering talent failed to make it work, it's dubious whether there's anything smaller players can do to deliver a viable service in the near-to-medium term. Regardless, several major tech companies like Microsoft and Nvidia are still trying to corner the cloud gaming market as of today.