Last week, we reported on the Google Stadia shutdown. While nothing has changed on that front, and the tech giant is still shutting down its Stadia gaming platform, there might still be hope for the controller that Stadia consoles come with.
Currently, you can still use your Stadia controller with other consoles, as you have been able to all along. However, the controller has Bluetooth usability limitations. This means that if you want to use your Stadia controller wirelessly, you can only do so with the Stadia console. However, given that the Stadia console is almost a relic of Google’s ill-fated foray into the gaming industry, even that won’t be possible for much longer.
Since the announcement of the shutdown, Google has understandably been inundated with questions and desperate pleas from players who’ve logged considerable hours on their Stadia devices. The primary concern, other than ‘will I be able to port my progress to another platform,’ is whether the Stadia controller is going to now turn into little more than an adornment and a reminder of a failed attempt at reaching the success of Microsoft and Sony in the gaming industry. Google wants you to know that it’s heard your pleas and, to that end, has issued a statement in the form of an email reply to one such query.
‘We have received many requests about making the Stadia controller work on Bluetooth or other features that can make Stadia workable after the full shut down. I will send this feedback to our team so that they can check out and possibly release a firmware to make it work.’
Keep in mind that this is merely the feedback of one Google employee and by no means serves as a guarantee that Google will try and make the Stadia controller usable. However, it does give us the most minute slice of hope that we’ll be able to use Stadia controllers wirelessly with other platforms.
This shutdown has understandably made a lot of people quite angry, and it would therefore be in Google’s best interests to try and turn this unlocked Stadia controller dream into a reality.
If you spent loads of cash on the Stadia console, though, all is not lost. Google has announced that it will be issuing refunds for the consoles and games bought from Google’s marketplace. As we can see from the email, though, Google still hasn’t made instructions pertaining to the refunds public yet. However, if you fire off an email, you’ll likely be first on the list for instructions when they become available.
If you’d like to read more about the context of the Google Stadia shutdown, we wrote about it last week. We’ll bring you any further developments as they happen.
