![]() ![]() 25 million for Game Pass at the start of 2022. The last reported subscriber numbers for Now were 3.2 million in 2021 vs. By that time, Game Pass had been on the market for a year as a download-only subscription service that achieved rapid success, forcing Sony to re-think its pure cloud approach to Now. Originally launched in 2014, Now struggled to attract interest and didn’t even enable downloads of games in its library until four years later. Sony’s own issues with cloud gaming that predated Stadia’s launch should have been a warning sign that drawing gamers to the cloud was easier said than done. Sony would eventually fold its preexisting PlayStation Now service into a revamped PlayStation Plus in 2022 to better align with Xbox’s strategy. Later in 2020, Microsoft rolled out its cloud gaming option within its wider Xbox Game Pass subscription, making it an additional feature for its highest tier. ![]() ![]() Nvidia fully launched its GeForce Now service a few months after Stadia, providing PC gamers a way to access their existing game libraries in the cloud at no additional cost beyond the base subscription. Google hoped to streamline an easy entry point into gaming by offering a cloud option separate from what was available through existing and expensive hardware, but it wasn’t long before cloud gaming was fleshed out elsewhere. Ultimately, Google just couldn’t gain traction in the shadow of more established gaming entities and their own approaches to cloud gaming. Likewise, at least two significant game releases in 2022, 2K’s “The Quarry” and Squanch Games’ “High on Life” from “Rick and Morty” co-creator Justin Roiland, were intended to be second-party Stadia exclusives before being forced to figure out new distribution plans after Stadia scaled back its gaming operation. However, many companies were still developing games for Stadia and found out about its impending closure after the public announcement, making the situation messy as it isn’t clear if the companies will be reimbursed for the revenues they would have made on the Stadia store. Google had already closed Stadia Games and Entertainment, its internal first-party development studio, in February 2021, signaling that Google’s entrance into gaming wasn’t going so smoothly. Google has said it will issue refunds to customers, and third-party partners are already figuring out how Stadia gamers can transfer their saved data to other platforms. After buying the initial equipment, customers would then pick from a selection of subscription plans to access a catalog of streaming games and pay for additional titles to add to their Stadia libraries. Intended as a cheaper buy-in to gaming than consoles from Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox, Stadia relied on the cloud and additional accessories to get a more casual gaming audience set up to game on a variety of devices. It hopes to have those completed by mid-January.At the end of September, Google announced that it plans to shutter its Stadia streaming service after just three years on the market. If you're one of the few still using the service, Google says it will process refunds for purchases made for the service through the Google Store. Once that day comes, though, Stadia servers will shut down and games bought on the service will no longer be available. The service will continue until January 18, 2023. Harrison said that Google is grateful to all of the gamers who have used Stadia. Phil Harrison, vice president and general manager of Stadia, shared the news in a blog post on September 29. However, that stance seems to have changed, as Google has announced that Stadia will shut down in January of 2023. ![]() Previously, rumors about the shutdown began to make the rounds, but Google shut them down, saying it had no intention of shutting down Stadia. Still, the service failed to create a solid and lasting foundation across the gaming industry-especially with the launch of other services like Amazon Luna. Google's attempt to corner the cloud gaming world was backed by strong technology. The game-streaming service launched in 2019 to little fanfare. ![]()
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