Google announced in September that it was shuttering Google Stadia, its 3-year-old cloud gaming service, at the beginning of 2023 and would be issuing refunds to customers.
On Wednesday, the company started processing refunds for games, add-on content and subscription fees purchased through the Stadia Store, according to an updated post on the Google support site.
The notice indicated that Stadia Pro subscriptions issued prior to Sept. 29 aren’t being refunded, however. «Players who held an active Stadia Pro subscription as of September 29, 2022 will not be charged for access to their Pro library or other subscription entitlements during the shut-down period,» the FAQ adds.
Stadia Pro was the $10 a month subscription service that gave users access to a library of games while the service was up and running.
Google asked users to be patient and refrain from reaching out to customer support, «as they will not be able to expedite your refund during this time.»
According to the FAQ, refunds will be issued through the original form of payment. If that isn’t possible, Google will email customers at the Google account used to make their purchases with instructions on setting up an alternate refund method.
If you deleted your Gmail account, though, you’ll have to contact Stadia customer service.
Stadia players may be able to transfer saved game data to other platforms, according to the FAQ, «but you may have to purchase the game on another platform to play.»
Google indicated it still expects to complete the majority of refunds of hardware, content and subscriptions by the time Stadia is shut off on Jan. 18. 2023.
The cloud gaming service launched in November 2019. In September, Stadia General Manager Phil Harrison wrote that, while the service’s approach to streaming games had a strong foundation, «it hasn’t gained the traction with users that we expected.»
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