When you have a successful product people love, you don't sunset it because the tech stack is too cumbersome.
This has to mean that the product wasn't seeing the adoption they were hoping for.
This has to mean that the product wasn't seeing the adoption they were hoping for.
If the product isn't helping the bottom line, companies will sunset it. "Free beer" would be the most widely adopted offering a bar could have, but it's not going to be good business for the bar.
Thats not always true especially with Google. Anything that helps tighten the already tight grip they have on users directly affects the bottom line.
(BTW the same goes for the old HN hobby-horse, Reader. If it had had a billion users, it would never have gotten shut down.)