UPDATE: The official Google Stadia Twitter account has responded to the suggestion Stadia is shutting down, stating:
"Stadia is not shutting down. Rest assured we're always working on bringing more great games to the platform and Stadia Pro. Let us know if you have other questions."
Original Story:Following reports last month that Google's game streaming service Stadia had been 'deprioritized,' there's now rumor of an imminent shut down.
As GameRant reports, a source speaking to the Twitter account Killed by Google claims a Google regional manager has confirmed the company is "beginning their exit plan" for Stadia.
There's no confirmed date yet, but if the rumor proves true, it's expected that Stadia could shut down "by the end of summer." The source also claims Google has no plans to allow games to be transferred to another service, but users will be told 30-60 days before the servers are turned off and the last month of service will be free.
When reports of Google deprioritizing the service appeared last month, it was suggested the underlying technology would be used for a new service called Google Stream. Stream is thought to be aimed at other companies who want to stream games, with Google looking for partners. If such a service went ahead, many Stadia games could end up being offered on alternative streaming platforms still running on Google's tech.
Stadia launched back in 2019 and offered impressive performance on phones and through the Chrome browser, but it only had a small launch library and input lag was a problem. Just over a year later, and Google was already starting to throw in the towel when news appeared that it was winding down efforts to create exclusive games for the service.
Official figures aren't shared by Google, but unofficial estimates suggest Stadia peaked at 1.3 million users at the end of 2020 and the total number of active users stands at around 250,000 today. I've reached out to Google for clarification and will update this post if and when I hear back.