Plex will pull out of Arcade game streaming service on March 31

Media server software maker Plex will pull the plug on its game streaming service Arcade on March 31, 2022. According to the company, several obstacles prevented Plex from building Arcade into the service it intended.

At least that’s according to a notification that a Plex user saw and then shared on Reddit. In it, Plex lists the date of March 31, 2022 when it will pull the plug on the game streaming service. On Plex’s website, the link to the game streaming service currently produces a 404 notification, and the company confirms the news in an updated blog post. Plex writes in that post that it is no longer accepting new subscribers. Users can continue to use the game streaming service until March 31, at no extra cost.

Plex introduced Arcade in January 2021. The game streaming service then featured 27 Atari games including Centipede, Lunar Lander, and Motor Psycho. The service was based on Parsec’s game streaming technology. To play with Arcade, users had to set up a Plex Media Server on a Windows or MacOS device. After that, the games could be streamed to mobile phones and televisions running on Android, to iOS and tvOS devices, and via the Chrome browser. The subscription service was available for $5 a month. Plex Pass subscribers paid $2.50 per month.

When announcing Arcade, Plex emphasized that the game streaming service was some sort of “internal Kickstarter-esque project.” Depending on the success achieved, it would be determined internally whether the company would continue with the service.

Plex Arcade