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That could have put them to unlimited risk. Let's assume they currently got $1M in revenue and spent $500K on maintenance. They can either refund everyone (buyi

That could have put them to unlimited risk. Let's assume they currently got $1M in revenue and spent $500K on maintenance. They can either refund everyone (buying goodwill for $500K) or book a $500K profit and piss people off. Currently, the estimated value of the goodwill is above $500K, so they are proceeding with a refund. But it could have been different. They could have got $10M in revenue, then most users would have moved to competing platforms, while still playing previously purchased games on Stadia. This could have left them with a choice between $1M/year running costs to keep the lights on vs. $10M to purchase goodwill that is only worth $1M.

imron 4y ago
> vs. $10M to purchase goodwill that is only worth $1M. The goodwill is worth far more than $1M because it affects Google's entire reputation. They already have a reputation of shutting things down. How many people will look at this, and start considering whether or not they should move off GCP? How many people will not sign up for their next big new product because of things like this? Which will ironically be likely for that product failing and being shut down (like Stadia). It's a vicious cycle, and Google is going to have a hard time breaking it.