If you bought a Stadia controller on the Google Store, you should expect a refund. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Ahead of Google Stadiaâs imminent January shutdown, Google is starting to process its promised refunds for Stadia games, add-ons, and subscription fees (other than Stadia Pro). Beginning Wednesday, Google will try to refund your transactions to their original form of payment, according to the companyâs newly updated Stadia shutdown FAQ.
Watch your email to know if Google has tried to process your refunds. If you made 20 or fewer purchases on the Stadia store, Google says youâll get an email for each of those transactions. If youâve made 21 or more purchases, youâll get a single email that summarizes the refund attempts.
If Google canât issue a refund to that form of payment, the company says it will email the Google account you used for a purchase. That email will spell out how you can set up another method for your refund. If youâve deleted your Google account, âwe will still attempt to automatically refund the transaction to the original form of payment,â the company writes. And if thatâs not available, the company asks that you reach out to Stadiaâs customer service.
Google still expects that all Stadia refunds will be processed by January 18th, 2023, which is the same day that the cloud gaming service will shut down. That includes any Stadia hardware purchased via the Google Store, though Googleâs FAQ update doesnât spell out when the company might start processing those refunds. Spokesperson Justin Rende says the company doesnât have âany timing to offer on Google Store hardware transactionsâ beyond the expected mid-January completion.
In late September, Google shared the shocking news that it would be shutting down Stadia, an announcement that was so sudden that even developers working with Google on games for the cloud gaming platform were unaware. (Some developers, including Bethesda and CD Projekt Red, have already detailed ways you can carry over your Stadia game progress to other platforms.) While Googleâs exit is certainly a blow to cloud gaming, Microsoft and Nvidia are still invested in the technology, and now Netflix is exploring a cloud gaming platform of its own.