While Stadia is history, the controller is being given a second life. With a Bluetooth update, owners can make the hardware compatible with the PC and other devices.
With Stadia, Google wanted to revolutionize the market and establish the delivery of video games via streaming. The attempt failed and Stadia will be finally discontinued today.
For users of the service who have invested money in the streaming hardware, there is a small parting gift that adds important functionality to the controller. An update enabled the internal Bluetooth module, which allows the hardware to be used for regular PC games or other compatible devices.
Help pages with more information
Along with the release of the update, Google made for a Revision of the help pages, which now describe how players can pair the controller with another device via Bluetooth. According to the official site the update will be available to users until December 31, 2023.
However, the use is associated with restrictions: Since the controller uses the Bluetooth Low Energy mode for the connections, no wireless sound can be transmitted via the 3.5 mm audio jack. On the other hand, the controller allows the assignment of the Google Assistant and the capture buttons.
But customers shouldn’t be at a disadvantage financially either: When confirming the closure of Google Stada, the company announced that everyone who made a Stadia purchase would receive a refund. As early as November, the search engine giant began to compensate customers.
But what happens next? According to Google, the underlying technology platform on which Stadia is built is “proven at scale and goes beyond gaming.” From now on, the technologies will be used in other areas of Google, including YouTube and Google Play.
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Google isn’t done with video games either: “We remain committed to gaming and will continue to invest in new tools, technologies and platforms that drive the success of developers, industry partners, cloud customers and creatives,” said Phil Harrison, Vice President and Stadia General Manager.
More news about Stadia.
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