Google has started issuing Stadia refunds, but don’t expect them immediately

Everyone knows by now that Google Stadia is dead. These are words that I didn’t think I would be writing, at least not only a handful of years after the service launched. The tech giant unceremoniously axed its golden opportunity to continue positively affecting the gaming community and shaping its future, even though it claims the Stadia infrastructure will go on to do great things across other Google products.

With that being said, it announced that it would be issuing refunds for all Stadia hardware and software purchases as well as add-on content and in-game subscriptions. However, Stadia Pro subscription charges would not be refunded, naturally, as they are a service users have consumed and not a product.

While it’s unfortunate that Google states refunds will be issued prior to January 28, 2023, and not sooner for the holiday season, a bit of good news has just dropped. In a tweet (seen above), the defunct cloud streaming platform has revealed it’s beginning the refund process for many Stadians today.

It still expects the bulk amount of users to get their money closer to the new year and not much sooner, but some have been pleasantly surprised by refunds appearing in their bank accounts this evening. Your refund will be returned the card on file that the content was purchased with, and if you no longer have that card or bank account, you will receive an email so you can give Google an alternate payment method.

Starting November 9, 2022, we will attempt to automatically refund each transaction to the form of payment used to make the purchase.

Google Support

In some instances, gamers will have lost access to their email address and card on file, in which case they will need to reach out directly to Stadia’s customer service. Here’s to hoping we get some sweet cash back for Christmas presents before Christmas has come and gone. Let me know in the comments if you’re starting to see money pour in or if you’re still waiting.