Netflix, Amazon Prime and Co. have shown the way: streaming media content directly via the home television has become the de facto standard for watching films and series over the past few years. Or do you still know someone today who likes to collect DVDs or BluRays? Probably not, as streaming clearly has a number of advantages. That’s exactly what Google thought when it launched its own streaming service in 2019 – not for films and series, but for video games. For €9.99 a month, you could play a few games directly from Google’s servers without downloading them. However, most of the games had to be bought separately, and mostly at full price. Now, of course, one can speculate for a long time about what ultimately was the death knell for Stadia. The fact that the vast majority of games were not included in the subscription should certainly have been one of them. Imagine if you only paid for streaming on Netflix and had to buy each individual film separately. It was only a matter of time before Google decided to scrap the streaming service. On January 18th it should be ready. To everyone’s surprise, a game will appear shortly before – and it’s even exclusive to Stadia!
Last game for Stadia is five days before the end
Ever since Google announced last September that Stadia would be discontinued, the streaming service has been pretty quiet. There have always been reports about saves for games that will either be lost forever or the publisher will mercifully transfer them to other platforms. But no one expected new game announcements or even exclusive games.
Well, Google seems to have one last farewell to the dying streaming platform: Worm Game will be released on January 13, 2023, probably the last Stadia game ever. The game itself is an arcade game in which we slip into the role of – who would have thought it – a worm that has to fight through all kinds of levels.
Honest words from the Stadia team
According to the game’s website, Worm Game even predates Stadia significantly (buy now ) itself. Because the game was mainly used as a tech test for various Stadia functions and was therefore more of a test program for the developers behind Stadia.
On the Worm Game website, the creators then find refreshingly honest words: “It won’t be game of the year, but the Stadia team has spent a lot of time on it and now we want to share it with you. Thank you very much for you played on Stadia.”
Those are forgiving words. And fortunately, game publishers like Ubisoft have already announced that games purchased from Stadia will be refunded. Have you tried Stadia? And if so, do you mourn the loss of Google’s streaming service? Or have you already found an alternative with Game Pass, which also enables game streaming? Feel free to write that in the comments!
