(Pocket-lint): Google’s cloud gaming platform, Stadia, will cease operations on January 19, 2023.
You have until then to play all the games in your Stadia library, but what about the many dollars, euros or pounds you’ve invested in the service over the past two years? What about the games you paid full price for?
Google will refund all purchases of Stadia hardware and games made on the Google Store. Here’s how it will work and when you can expect your money back.
What is Google Payback?
All games purchased from the Google (Stadia) Store will be refunded. Just like in-game purchases (DLC).
Google will also refund hardware purchased through Google directly: the Stadia Controller, Stadia Founder’s Edition, Stadia Premiere Edition, and the Play and Watch bundle with Google TV.
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Google does not refund historical Stadia Pro subscription fees. You will not receive any monthly fees you have paid to date. However, you will be able to play all games obtained through the Pro membership up to and including January 18, 2023, although no further fees will be charged after September 29, 2022.
How to claim your Google Stadia refund
The good news is that you probably won’t have to do anything to claim a Stadia refund. Google will, in most cases, automatically refund eligible hardware and game purchases directly to the account originally used.
If this is not possible, it will email the Stadia account holder with further details on how to process the refund.
Most returns are expected to have been processed by mid-January 2023.
Other things to consider
In addition to getting your money back, you can also consider downloading your Stadia data.
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It includes profile information, game stats, social data, save files and captures, and will be available on Google Takeout until the end of the game on January 18, 2023.
You may also want to delete Stadia from your Google Account at some point. You can find out how to do it here.
Written by Rik Henderson.