Google to unlock Stadia controller
Following the discontinuation of the service, Google is set to allow users to unlock the Stadia controller. This will allow the controller to be used with other platforms over Bluetooth sometime next week.
The official Stadia Twitter account confirmed that Google plans to release a “self-serve” tool that will unlock its proprietary Stadia controller to allow it to function on other platforms.
“We’ve also got Bluetooth news: next week we’ll be releasing a self-serve tool to enable Bluetooth connections on your Stadia Controller,” stated the tweet. “We’ll share details here on release.”
The company stopped short of revealing how it would do this other than more details were coming “later this week.” However, it confirmed that it had no plans to open-source the controller.
After months of denying that it was shutting the service down, Google finally announced the end of Stadia back in September 2022. Back then, it stated that Stadia would shut down in January of 2023 and that it would offer refunds for those who purchased both the controller and any games on the service. The company has since announced that it expects the majority of refunds to be processed by January 18, 2023.
Following the announcement, many Stadia owners started wondering whether Google would finally allow them to use their controllers on platforms other than Stadia. With the latest announcement, Google looks to be finally giving these owners a way for them to continue using the Stadia controller.
Meanwhile, even as Stadia is shutting down, Google is continuing to release games on the service. The final Stadia release is Google’s own Worm Game — a game that was previously used internally by Google to test the platform’s technology and features prior to its launch. This then gives the game the dubious distinction of being both the last game to be released on the service and the first.
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