The refunds envisaged for the closure of the Stadia platform have also begun to be credited in Italy: as is known, at the end of September Google announced that by January 18, 2023, its cloud gaming service would be permanently shut down. The official communication also ensured that everyone could continue playing until the last moment, while the return of every euro paid would have taken place by mid-January.
In fact, the company has provided for reimbursement for all games (including add-ons) and purchases of Stadia hardware (founder’s edition controllers and packages, Premiere Edition and Play and Watch with Google TV); instead, they are excluding Stadia Pro subscriptions issued before September 29as well as the Power Support Claw for the Stadia Controller.
Some critical issues could only emerge with securities that require financial transactions. As for transferring game progress to another platform, major developers, such as Ubisoft, Bungie, I/O Interactive, CD Projekt Red, Rockstar Games e Bethesda have foreseen procedures that should simplify everything: “Starting from November 9, 2022, Stadia will try to automatically process refunds for all purchases of games, additional content and subscription fees other than Stadia Pro made through the store – reads the official website – We ask that you please be patient while we process these transactions and please do not contact customer support, which will not be able to speed up the repayment. We plan to process most refunds by January 18, 2023.”
And in fact, many Italian users are also confirming the receipt of informative emails with operational times, as well as complete or partial credits on current accounts, PayPal or credit cards (depends on the payment method chosen), while those who had used gift cards received credits to spend again on the Play Store. However, the company has confirmed that if it is not possible to refund via the original form of payment, An email will be sent to your Google account used to make the purchase with instructions to set up an alternative method.
The operation will continue until January, so whoever has found the accreditation of only the games and not the hardware component he’ll just have to have a little patience.
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The details of the closing operation
Refund procedures have started globally starting November 9are fully automatic and people don’t have to do anything: “Customers who have made up to 20 purchases on the Stadia store will receive an email for every transaction they make, including a separate email for each anniversary of any eligible recurring subscriptions,” specified Google in the customer help information area. Instead, those who have made more than 20 purchases will receive a single summary email.
Per who deleted the accountthe advice is to contact Stadia customer support (going through here) and provide the email address of the old profile, together with the date and amount of the last transaction.
There is no return of the hardware components, which may have to be disposed of autonomously. But it is good to remember that the Stadia Controller can still be used when connected via USB-C cable to a compatible device, such as an Android smartphone or a smart TV.