Google Stadia Refunds Continue, Though Play Store Credit Issues Emerge

As promised by Google, hardware and software purchases made for Stadia via the Play Store are being refunded. However, a curious issue has been emerging for some former Stadia customers. Some customers are seeing a negative Play Store balance on their account upon receiving their refund.

Google Stadia is officially shutting down as of January 2023. For those who have supported the cloud-based gaming platform, and invested cash into Stadia hardware and games, Google is issuing refunds for purchases made through the Google Play Store. These have begun to go out ahead of the closure.

However, as reported by 9to5Google, some of those who purchased Stadia games via Play Store credits are running into hiccups. Due to the ability to accumulate Play Store credits through Play Points, Opinion Rewards, surveys, etc., occasional users have been able to amass a large number of credits and used them on Stadia. In some instances, this figure rose to upwards of over $1,000.

Adding to that, some users split their purchases between Play Store credits and another form of payment. However, it appears Google’s support team has been unable to transfer this credit into another form of payment. Thus, users are experiencing negative credits on their accounts.

Another issue that’s been surfacing revolves around the Opinion Rewards credits. These credits specifically have a one-year expiration date following the completion of each survey. The credits being applied for Opinion Rewards reportedly still have the original expiration date. This means those which have expired aren’t being credited back to the user.

Google has provided a statement on the matter. In response to 9to5Google’s inquiry, the company says, “We are aware of the Play Points balance issue caused by Stadia refunds that is impacting some users in the US. We are working on a resolution for this issue.”

One working theory on how to solve the problem is to delete your Google account prior to the Stadia refund being processed. It’s believed that since Google is obligated to issue a full refund, the payment will then have to be issued as another form of payment sans Play Store credits. However, this is merely an idea community members brought to the table and does not guarantee a solution.