A rumor has been circulating this week suggesting Google plans to shut down Stadia by the end of summer, but there’s no reason to really believe that’s the case.
First launched in 2019, Google Stadia had a strong first year full of major AAA titles, but some enthusiasm around the service diminished following last year’s closure of Google’s first-party studio Stadia Games & Entertainment. Despite that, Stadia has continued to fill out its library with games large and small, with Google aiming to bring at least 100 new titles per year.
This week, a rumor was shared in a Stadia fan group on Facebook (the original post has since been removed), in which a person claiming to have connection with a Google employee alleged that Stadia would be shut down in the near future. The rumor, posted by a user with the name “Donny Jepp” — claims that at a Google retail seminar in California, the company shared their “exit plan” for Stadia, shutting down the game streaming service by “the end of summer.”
The poster went on to claim that Stadia would receive treatment “like they did with Google Play Music,” with customers to be informed 30-60 days ahead of time but not moved to another platform. This comparison is strange though, as Google transitioned Play Music customers and features to YouTube Music. Google Play Music customers also had far more than 60 days notice — closer to five months — to move over to YouTube Music.
Beyond the inconsistencies within the rumor’s claims, there’s simply no truth to the idea of Stadia shutting down in the near future. For starters, the last day of summer 2022 is September 23, and multiple titles have been confirmed to release on Stadia after that date, including FIFA 23 on September 30. Moreover, we’re already less than 60 days from the end of summer, so Google would’ve needed to start sending notices out by now.
More importantly, the official Google Stadia account has since tweeted — with an appropriate amount of snark, I might add — effectively confirming this rumor to be false by parodying the “seminar in California” format.
To put it plainly, Google Stadia is not shutting down any time soon. Instead, the service is now well positioned to be carried further by Google licensing its Immersive Stream tech, upon which Stadia is built, to other companies. Google has even announced that Stadia will be expanding into Mexico this year.
Beyond that, our APK Insight team has been tracking multiple new features — like 1440p streaming, Explore tab reactions, and motion controls — that should be coming soon to improve the experience for Stadia players. To keep up with the variety of Stadia-related news each week, be sure to check out our Stadia Changelog column, posted every Friday.
More on Stadia:
- Outcasters, one of Google Stadia’s only exclusive games, is now free to play for everyone
- Saints Row officially coming to Google Stadia on August 23, day-and-date with other platforms
- Stadia Changelog: FIFA 23 is confirmed as Into the Breach picks up free ‘Advanced Edition’ update
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