Stadia

Google begins reaching out to fix ‘declined’ Stadia refunds

Kyle Bradshaw | Nov 17 2022 - 12:22 pm PT

Continuing the complex process of refunding every Stadia purchase, Google is now reaching out to those whose refunds were “declined” for any reason.

When Google first announced that all Stadia game and expansion purchases would be refunded — excluding the cost of Stadia Pro — the company shared that there would be a process put in place for those who have issues receiving the refund. It didn’t take long for those issues to crop up. Some people had their credit card expire, others are no longer with their previous bank, and for some reason, some Stadia refunds were simply marked as “declined.”

With the Stadia refund process starting in the United States before moving on to European, British, and Canadian customers, Google has already begun to reach out to those whose refunds were unable to be completed. If you are affected by “declined” Stadia refunds, keep an eye out for an email with the subject line “Google: Unable to complete refund” from Google support.

Inside the new Stadia email, you’ll find a link to “update payment info.” This simply brings you to the Google Payment Center, where you’re asked to choose which of your current payment methods you’d like to receive the funds. This includes any credit/debit cards attached to your account, as well as an option to accept Google Play Store credit or “Google Pay balance” instead.

Once you’ve picked a new payment method, Google shows a — potentially incorrect — message saying that your Stadia refund “will process within 2 months of your original transaction.” Considering the overwhelming majority of Stadia refunds are now older than that two-month window, it’s likely this is simply generic text from Google’s typical refund flow. Our own Ben Schoon was affected by this “declined” Stadia refund issue, so we’ll be keeping a close eye on how long it takes for these corrected refunds to process.

That said, the Stadia refund process is still quite far from complete. Many Stadia customers in both North America and Europe have still not yet had their transactions reversed. Per Google’s original timeline, the majority of Stadia refunds will be completed by mid-January 2023.