Google Stadia didn’t make much of a splash when it launched back in 2019 and, although it certainly had its own small share of ardent defenders, the cloud gaming service was eventually shuttered for good on January 18, 2023.
I was one of the few people who bought into the service back in the day, intrigued by the prospect of playing games at their maximum graphical settings over the dorm room internet with my crusty university laptop.
With the service’s super strict internet speed requirements, however, that dream never really came to fruition, but I still did enjoy my time with the surprisingly good Google Stadia controller - even if the actual streaming experience was often a bit laggy.
With a layout similar to the asymmetrical design of the DualShock or DualSense controllers, it was pretty comfortable to use and came in a range of attractive colors. My favorite was easily the Wasabi Green, which was a super cute minty hue decorated with vibrant green elements at the base of the thumbsticks.
If you’re like me and still have an old Google Stadia Controller knocking around, then it’s well worth taking a few moments to switch it over to Bluetooth mode using a handy button found on what remains of the Stadia website. Although the controller was connected directly to the now discontinued Stadia servers by default, performing this change will allow you to use it with a range of devices over a wireless Bluetooth connection.
This is a pleasant gesture and a great way to prevent a lot of perfectly functional video game controllers from ending up in landfills, but there is a strict time limit. The Bluetooth switching service will only be available until the end of this month (31st December 2023), so you’re going to need to act relatively quickly if you want to make the most of it.
Thankfully, it’s not the end of the world if you forget as the Google Stadia Controller can still be used with a compatible PC albeit exclusively over a wired connection.
Still sad about the end of Google Stadia? See our guides to the best gaming console and best handheld games consoles for options to consider instead.
