One last exclusive for Google Stadia has been launched less than a week before the platform’s demise. Only a few exclusives have ever come to Stadia, and some of them will not be leaving the service before it is shut down.
Google’s soon-to-be-defunct Stadia game streaming service debuted in late 2019 to varying degrees of acclaim. It enabled users to play games streamed online to their devices as Google’s response to the advent of game streaming. It was structured similarly to services like Amazon Luna or Xbox Cloud Gaming, but it never achieved the levels of popularity that were expected of it. Google stated in September that the service would shut down in January 2023 and started processing Stadia refunds shortly after.
You might have seen one last game arrive on Stadia today. It's a humble ? thanks ? for playing from our team.
Find it here: https://t.co/PyAUH181v1
— Stadia ??? (@GoogleStadia) January 13, 2023
It has been relatively quiet on the Stadia release front since the news of its demise, but a surprising revelation from the Stadia crew has broken the silence. The Google Stadia Twitter account announced the January 13 release of the Snake-like title Worm Game, which is expected to be the final game to be released on Stadia. While certain Stadia exclusives for other platforms have been revealed, it looks like Worm Game will only be accessible to play until January 18, 2023, 11:59 p.m. PST.
According to the Worm Game Stadia website, the “modest title” was used internally during Stadia development for testing reasons and has stayed in use since. It was never intended to be viewed or played outside of the team, but it was published fewer than five days before the service’s demise as a thank-you to users. Gamers may continue to play the game for free for up to 180 minutes by utilising a keyboard, Stadia controller, or other gamepads. Stadia enthusiasts assembled in the announcement’s answers with bittersweet sadness that the service’s last dance would be something that had been with Stadia even before its 2019 debut.
Google Stadia has a dedicated following even if it never fully lived up to the expectations that were held for it. Many gamers found value in what Stadia had to offer, with one notable example being a Red Dead Online player who spent over 6,000 hours on Stadia. Google Stadia won’t be missed by many, but it will be remembered as a crucial stepping stone in the history of game streaming by future cloud gaming developers.
