Stadia "is not shutting down," Google insists

Google Stadia
(Image credit: Google)

Amid a newly circulating rumor claiming the Stadia service is shuttering imminently, Google says the platform "is not shutting down" and promises "more great games" are on the way.

The admittedly shaky rumor was whispered by someone who claimed to be a friend and ex-coworker of a Google employee, who had purportedly heard that Stadia could be killed by the end of this Summer. The rumor was then shared by the prominent Twitter account Killed by Google and subsequently picked up by various outlets around the internet, despite Killed by Google admitting it was simply "shitposting" when it originally shared the rumor.

Still, the chatter was enough to concern one Google Stadia fan, who asked the platform's official Twitter account if there was any veracity to the claim and was lucky enough to receive an answer to the contrary. "Stadia is not shutting down," reads the reply from Google. "Rest assured we're always working on bringing more great games to the platform and Stadia Pro."

While Google definitively shut down the latest Stadia rumor, a far more reliable report from Business Insider claimed the company was "deprioritizing" the platform's consumer business to focus on securing white-label deals with brands including Peloton, AT&T, and more. Google has yet to respond to the report, which was first published back in February. Back in February 2021, it closed its first-party studios and abandoned plans for Stadia-exclusive games.

For an insight into what could've been had Stadia been more successful, you needn't look any further than Supermassive's most recent multiplayer horror hit, The Quarry.

Jordan Gerblick

After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer, I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.

Read more
Horizon Zero Dawn
In a rollercoaster week for Horizon Zero Dawn fans, its MMO is apparently not cancelled: "The 'H' that I mentioned has nothing to do with Horizon"
God of War Ragnarok
PlayStation cancels unannounced live-service God of War game from Demon's Souls Remake studio and live-service game from Days Gone dev
Star Wars Eclipse
Star Wars Eclipse studio lead assures fans that Quantic Dream developers "remain unaffected" by NetEase layoffs, and "are continuing to develop our projects at full pace"
PS5
PlayStation boss says good old-fashioned consoles like PS5 are their priority, but as PC gaming grows Sony also wants to reach players elsewhere
Helldivers 2 screenshot showing a fully geared/armored diver standing with gun in hand as three jets soar the skies behind him
Arrowhead CEO assures Helldivers 2 fans the online shooter will stay live "as long as people play" it: "If we can keep it going for 10 years we will"
Baldur's Gate 3 mind flayer with pale purple skin and facial tentacles stares ahead with glowing yellow eyes
Baldur's Gate 3 developer says Google's failed game streaming service Stadia backed Larian into a corner where it had to use a "scary" dev tool
Latest in Games
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft guild cheats its way to winning Race for World First, gets caught, banned, then reverses its name and does it all over again
GTA 3 Mobile screenshot showing claude running away from police near a casino
The fan-made Dreamcast version of GTA 3 is looking way better in the latest look, introducing tech that "would’ve previously been a slideshow"
Avowed screenshot showing a corpse-like figure's face with glowing purple mushroom/spore growths
I thought I was going evil in Avowed, but one quest changed everything I thought I knew about morality in this RPG
Deltarune
Undertale creator Toby Fox's tomfoolery leaves Deltarune testers thinking an intentional nerf was actually a bug after they "independently" discovered it
Pokemon Go player trying to catch a Croagunk
Pokemon Go developer Niantic is being bought for $3.5 billion, CEO says it'll help its games be "'forever games' that will endure for future generations"
Balatro
Balatro creator hits back at AI art spread on the roguelike's subreddit: "I don't use it in my game, I think it does real harm to artists of all kinds"
Latest in News
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft guild cheats its way to winning Race for World First, gets caught, banned, then reverses its name and does it all over again
A AMD Ryzen 7 8700G being put into it's socket by a reviewer
AMD's new Ryzen 9 X3D processors launch today, here's the stock I've found so far
GTA 3 Mobile screenshot showing claude running away from police near a casino
The fan-made Dreamcast version of GTA 3 is looking way better in the latest look, introducing tech that "would’ve previously been a slideshow"
Scarlett Johansson in Jurassic World Rebirth
Jurassic World Rebirth studio asked Scarlett Johansson to join Instagram, but she refused: "The film will do fine"
Deltarune
Undertale creator Toby Fox's tomfoolery leaves Deltarune testers thinking an intentional nerf was actually a bug after they "independently" discovered it
Pokemon Go player trying to catch a Croagunk
Pokemon Go developer Niantic is being bought for $3.5 billion, CEO says it'll help its games be "'forever games' that will endure for future generations"