Burying the Stadia? Google removes the ‘Gaming’ tab from the Google Store

Two Google products, the Google Pixel 6a and the flagship Google Pixel Buds Pro are all set to go on sale soon. The products were announced at the Google I/O on May 11.

To retain focus on these new products, the company has removed the dedicated “Gaming” tab off the Google Store. 

As spotted by 9to5Google, the Google Store initially featured seven categories on the top bar of the page - smartphones, watches, smart home products, laptops, subscriptions, offers, and gaming. This gaming section was added in 2020 and listed products that were related to Google’s cloud gaming service Stadia. 

Since 2020, the design of the Google Store page has changed frequently, but the gaming tab was always present. 

Now, post the Google I/O keynote, it has been replaced with an “Earbuds” tab. Google announced the Pixel Buds Pro with some top-of-the-line features, and these are the company’s most premium earbuds yet – and obviously, Google wants to showcase these.

The Pixel Buds Pro is going on sale in July. For those waiting eagerly, here’s a bit more information on the buds. 

For all practical purposes, the decision to swap the Gaming tab for the Earbuds one, makes sense. Google would want to play up its latest launches, particularly a flagship one. But what does this mean for Stadia?

Stadia and the related hardware are not off the store though. They are visible under the “Smart Home’ category under the “Gaming” section which has an “overview” page for Stadia. This page links to the “Stadia Controller, bundle with the Chromecast with Google TV, as well as the Chromecast’s Ethernet adapter and the Power Support Claw accessory”. 

Is this how Google is burying the Stadia, to focus on other products that people are going to be more interested in, like the new buds, the upcoming Pixel 7, the Pixel 7 Pro, the Pixel Watch, and the Pixel Buds. 

But does this mark the beginning of the end for Stadia? This remains to be seen.

Also Read: Google I/O 2022: Google’s Pixel Buds Pro are now official

Also Read: Google I/O 2022: Google teases the Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel Tab, and Pixel Watch