Andrew Heinzman
The Stadia cloud gaming service shuts down on January 18th. But as a final thanks to all the believers, Bluetooth support is finally coming to all Stadia controllers. Additionally, the Stadia service is publishing one last game.
Update, 1/18/23: You have until December 31st, 2023 to enable Bluetooth functionality on your Stadia controller.
We had a lot of complaints about Stadia, but the controller’s locked-down nature really rubbed us the wrong way. Next week, Google will share a “self-serve” tool that unlocks the controller’s Bluetooth functionality, allowing you to use it with any device or platform.
https://twitter.com/googlestadia/status/1613998016033071104
As for the new Stadia game—well, it’s a cute little thing that the Stadia used for beta testing. The Worm Game is like a more intense version of Snake, with several gameplay modes (including multiplayer) and a custom soundtrack. (As 9to5Google notes, Worm Game was first seen during a leak in 2019.)
For Stadia gamers, this is a bittersweet moment that may provide some closure. The Stadia service was neglected after its launch, and Google cruelly shut everything down without giving its staff, partners, or developers a heads-up.
It’s important to note that Stadia provided refunds for customers’ subscriptions and hardware purchases. Extending Bluetooth support for Stadia controllers is just one last show of goodwill. Of course, I’m just wondering how we’ll play Worm Game after the January 18th shutdown!
Source: Google
