Fans have wondered when Google Stadia would be shutting down since before the game streaming service even launched. Google is known for shutting down services even when they’re popular, and the lackluster adoption of Stadia makes it seem like a possible target for decommissioning. We’ll take a look at when Stadia might be shutting down below.
Will Google Stadia be shutting down in 2021?
As of writing, Google hasn’t made any announcements about shutting down Stadia in 2021 or beyond. The service continues to get new releases and doesn’t show any signs of winding down.
The biggest indicator that led fans to believe Stadia’s days were numbered was the shuttering of Stadia Games and Entertainment, Google’s in-house game development studio. In February 2021, a little over a year after its formation was announced, Google closed it down. Unfortunately, this closure included Typhoon Studios, which developed Journey to the Savage Planet before being acquired.
Since its internal studio closed, Google has been rather subdued with marketing for Stadia. However, it’s continuing to get support, and many major multi-platform titles have been released on the service this year. In particular, Stadia is partnering closely with Ubisoft and is offering a subscription giving users access to its games similar to the one found on Amazon Luna.
Stadia’s biggest issue so far is that it doesn’t offer a unique experience. There are no big exclusives in development for it, and game enthusiasts are likely to have a PC or consoles that provide the same games that Stadia does. Additionally, Google’s reputation for shutting down services has followed Stadia since it launched. As a result, players don’t want to buy games at full price and face the possibility of losing access to them when Google decides Stadia is no longer worth the trouble.
So, for now, Stadia is safe. However, it’s not the success that Google hoped for, so its future is unsure.
