By now you’ve likely seen the news that Google Stadia is shutting down on January 18, 2023. After that date, any of the games you purchased on the cloud gaming service will be lost to the digital void, and your Stadia controller will only work as a wired PC gamepad.
Thankfully, it’s not all bad news, as Google has announced that it will be refunding all Google Stadia purchases made through its stores – meaning that early adopters and recent subscribers alike will be reimbursed for the hardware and software they purchased.
But how do you get a refund for Google Stadia?
How to get a refund for Google Stadia
From the sounds of things, most people won’t need to put in much effort to get a refund for their Stadia games and hardware.
In a notice sent out to Google Stadia users today the company announced that it would automatically refund any hardware purchases made on the Google Store (including the Stadia Founder’s Edition, Stadia Premiere Edition, and the standalone controller) as well as any game and add-on purchases made on the Stadia store.
According to Google, the refunds will be sent in the form of credit used to pay for the Stadia products. So if you paid with a credit or debit card you’ll get money back rather than Google Store credit.
Unfortunately, it looks like if you bought your hardware or game codes from a third-party source you probably won’t get your money back right now. On top of that, players won’t be refunded for their Stadia Pro subscription fees, though people with access to the service on September 29 will continue to be able to play their Stadia Pro library until January 18.
If your Google account isn’t automatically refunded for whatever reason, Google will automatically contact you with the steps you need to take to claim a refund. It’s not clear when those emails will be sent out, but remember to watch out for any potential scam emails claiming to be from Google.
If Google can’t contact you (for example if you’ve closed your Google account) then you will likely need to get in contact with Google’s support team to work out a more bespoke solution. You can also check out the advice at Google's help center as it updates.
Final thoughts
While believers in Google Stadia will likely be disappointed that the service is closing down, Google's comprehensive refund policy should help to ease most pains that players are experiencing after the announcement.
The only other issue is that your game data will be lost. That said, you can use Google Takeout to download the data before January 18 and import your saves into PC versions of the game.
So, if you don't quite have time to complete the games before Stadia shuts down, you can download your saves and pick up where you left off on your gaming PC.
