Sony Acquires And Dismantles Onlive Game Streaming Service

Sony Acquires And Dismantles Onlive Game Streaming Service

Sony has acquired and shutdown Onlive game streaming service after taking over its patents and assets.

Onlive was found in 2010 as a leader in game streaming services, however it was never able to attain financial success. In 2012, all Onlive employees were laid off and the company was sold to an investor who reformed it and relaunched its game streaming service last year.

On the side of the table, Sony acquired Onlive competitor Gaikai in 2012 and evolved it to PlayStation Now streaming service. PS Now launched earlier this year, allowing gamers to stream PlayStation 3 games to Sony's consoles, TVs, and Blu-ray players.

Users will continue to have access to OnLive’s services until April 30, 2015, including the OnLive Game Service, OnLive Desktop, and SL Go (Second Life). Effective now, no further subscription renewals will be charged for any of these services. Users whose subscriptions were renewed on or after March 28 will be refunded. Following the termination of the company’s services and related products, OnLive will engage in an orderly wind-down of the company and cease operations.