Stadia service will end early next year.
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Google Stadia is officially shutting down on January 18, 2023.
Google will be issuing full refunds to anyone who bought Stadia games, DLC, or hardware.
The refunds should be completed by Stadia’s shutdown date, and users won’t have to return any hardware.
Since its buzzy launch in 2019, game-streaming service Google Stadia hasn’t revolutionized the gaming world quite as much as Google expected it to. And now, just three years after launching, Stadia is shutting down.
But if you’re a Stadia power user, you’re not out of luck. Google is offering full refunds to anyone who spent money on Stadia games, DLC, or hardware.
What can Google Stadia subscribers get a refund for?
Google is refunding all Stadia games, add-on DLC, and hardware. That includes all Stadia controllers and Stadia “Play and Watch” Chromecast packages. You don’t need to return anything to get your refund.
The catch is that Google is only refunding purchases made directly through Google’s online stores. If you bought your hardware from a store like Best Buy or Walmart, or through a real-world Google Store, you can’t get a refund.
You can get a refund on your Google Stadia controllers.
Crystal Cox/Photographer
In addition, you can’t get a refund for your Stadia Pro subscription. Instead, Google is waiving the Pro membership fee for Stadia’s last few months.
Until Stadia officially shuts down on January 18, 2023, you can continue to play any game you’ve already bought. You can’t buy new games or DLC, and all preorders will be canceled and refunded.
How to get your Google Stadia refund
The best way to make sure that you get your refund is to log in to your Google account and head to the Google Pay website. Here, make sure that all your payment information is up to date. The exact details are scarce, but Google will likely send your refund money back to the same payment method you used to buy everything.
If the card you used to buy your Stadia items isn’t active anymore, or you used a gift card, you might have to go through a different process. And if you live outside of the US, it might take longer.
Google claims that most users can expect to get their refunds by Stadia’s shutdown date in January. They’ll be sending subscribers an email with more information soon, so keep an eye out for it. We’ll update this article with additional details once they’re available.