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How to activate Bluetooth on the Google Stadia controller?

Here’s how to sync the Google Stadio controller with other devices. Even though Google Stadia may be closing down, individuals who still own their controller will be able to utilize it over Bluetooth.

Although Google has stopped offering its Stadia cloud game streaming service, it is providing the wireless Stadia controller another shot as a Bluetooth controller that can be linked to PCs, Macs, phones, and probably other devices as well.

The modification will not be made automatically; it must be done manually and cannot be undone. Additionally, the change to enable Bluetooth wirelessly must be made by December 31st, 2023. Any unconverted Stadia controller would still function as a wired USB gamepad after that date, but it won’t be able to play games wirelessly.

Users need only adhere to these instructions to connect and pair their control through BlueTooth, according to the official Stadia Bluetooth blog post.

First, toggle the Bluetooth setting on the Google Stadia controller.
To activate pairing mode, hold down and press the ‘Y + Stadia keys for two seconds. If done properly, the status light will blink orange.
Take hold of the device that you wish to play on and connect the controller with it in the settings. The Stadia controllers’ status light will become solid white if it is successful.
If it was successful, the controller will subsequently connect with the device automatically in the future.

Some devices won’t be able to sync with the controller, per the Stadia blog post. It noted, “Not all Bluetooth devices are the same, so compatibility will vary. The Stadia Controller uses Bluetooth low energy connections, so some features, such as pass-through audio, aren’t possible wirelessly.”

Also Read: Can an Android phone run a PS2 emulator?

But the post goes on to say that its team has “verified that the Stadia Controller works for gameplay with the list of supported devices. It hasn’t been tested with all Bluetooth device types, so it might not work with others.”

Here are some suggestions to reset the controller and attempt to resolve the issue if you are having significant problems pairing your Stadia controller with your selected device.

Inspect the controller to make sure it has a minimum of 30 minutes of charge.
To restart the device, unplug the controller and press and hold the Stadia button for ten seconds.
Holding the Google Assistant and Capture buttons for six seconds will force the controller to be reset to factory settings if the problem persists.

Customer assistance will not be open to inquiries about Bluetooth problems, according to Stadia.

The Google Stadia will sadly be going to shut down this year, and those who did buy games on the platform are furious about losing their progress and game data. Hence a lot of game developers have indeed been working tirelessly to ensure that users can move their Google Stadia data to other consoles and PCs.

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

Google announced the shut down of Stadia in-house game development studios

Leave a Comment / Gaming, Google, News, Tech News / By Annasha

On 1st Feb 2021, Google announced to shut down its internal game development for Stadia for not being able to meet high rising costs of the same. “Creating best-in-class games from the ground up takes many years and significant investment, and the cost is going up exponentially,” said Phil Harrison, VP, and general manager of Google Stadia, in a blog post. From now on, Google’s game streaming service will be entirely dependent on the titles of other external game developers and game publishers. It is really unfortunate to witness the internal cloud-based game streaming service of Google shut down within a couple of years.

When Stadia was launched in 2019, the internal game development unit was expected to make titles for the service. But, with a heavy chest, the company has declared yesterday about shutting the internal game development unit. The in-house game development is costly and monetarily the company is not planning to invest in it. Phil Harrison also mentioned that Jade Raymond, Head of Google Stadia’s Games and Entertainment, will quit the company.

About Google Stadia

Google Stadia is a platform where one can play any online modern games using your smart devices. One doesn’t need to download or install the Stadia platform. Anyone who wants to play online games on Stadia can do it from television using a Chromecast Ultra, desktop, laptop, smartphone ( currently Pixel 3 and 3a models). If one has an internet speed of at least 35Mbps, Google Stadia can stream 4K resolution gameplay with HDR at 60fps.

In 2019, the company revealed the full online gaming platform where it provides two different options for playing games. One needs to buy a $10 per month Stadia Pro subscription. The user can either access Stadia’s game library on a remote server or can download and install the games on the computer. Some of the available games on Google Stadia are Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Attack on Titan 2: Final Battle, Baldur’s Gate 3, Borderlands 3, Cake Bash, Celeste, Crayta, The Crew 2, etc.

Future prospect of Google Stadia

Google launched the Stadia platform with the hope to stream online games across the globe. The best advantage of playing in Google Stadia is you don’t have to download or install any software and have access to the game anywhere and anytime. Recently with the success of Cyberpunk 2077, Google Stadia has proved the flexibility of this online game streaming service at a global level. Though the internal game development studio has been shut down, Google will still invest in the Stadia platform to give its users and potential customers the best cloud gaming experience ever. In the blog post by Harrison, he also mentioned that Google Stadia will still work to stream games on every possible screen in the future.

Google Stadia in 2021 has plans to invest and help the independent game developers take advantage of the Stadia platform and deliver their games directly to the players. Stadia’s gaming infrastructures are impressive and thus Google here has an opportunity to partner with interested gaming companies who want a streaming service for their games. In this way, Stadia can become a long-term sustainable solution for many game developers out there and big enterprises in the gaming industry as well. The internal development team, SDG&E will move to different roles in the Stadia. Currently, Google Stadia will focus more on establishing strong partnerships.

Other gaming opportunities

With Google Stadia’s in-house game development shutting down, new opportunities are also rising simultaneously in other companies. Asus in partnership with AFK Gaming has launched the ROG Academy Programme in India. This new program is bringing immense opportunities for all the budding game developers to participate in this contest and win existing opportunities. The gaming culture is constantly evolving in India and abroad thus opening new windows of opportunities and taking gaming seriously as a profession. The independent game developers can also use Google Stadia to stream their games and deliver them to the users if they are good enough. With time, more chances will come in the way of game developers in the upcoming years.

Annasha

Annasha Dey is an NIT student, who apart from studying engineering is also a content writer. She has a great interest in photography, writing, reading novels, and travelling as well. She is a foodie who loves socializing and hanging out with her friends. She is also a trained Kathak dancer and a big fashion enthusiast. Dey also loves watching TV series, which includes F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Big Bang Theory. To be a better writer she prefers to read more

Users Can Now Access Google Stadia Via 4G and 5G Services On Their Mobile Phones

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By Athulya

Gamers have more good news coming their way. Google recently announced that its cloud gaming service Stadia will now be accessible to Android users. As per the report, Google’s Stadia will now work through 4G and 5G services from mobile phones. This will improve the accessibility of the service, which hit the market last November. Let us now take a quick look at how this move will help gamers around the world.

Accessibility Over Mobile Networks

Google’s announcement via their 9to5Google forum says that users can now use Stadia over mobile networks. The platform will be accessible to Android users who have 4G or 5G connectivity. However, this feature will be through an “experiment” mode, hinting that the feature might not pan out so great for the first few users. Ever since the platform dropped in November 2019, users could play games on it only over Wi-Fi. However, a few had figured out how to play over cellular networks by tethering their laptop. Even so, this was not a preferred method for many, with most opting to play over their fixed LANs.

Experiment Op-In

In order to play over a cellular network, users will have to opt-in for the experiment. To do so, they should head to their Stadia app, select Experiments, and then click on the Use Mobile Data option. As per previous user experience, playing over a 90Mbps LTE connection ranged from playable to filled with stutters. However, that was back in November, and there is reason to suspect Google has since improved the platform. Since we are unsure of whether the tech giant has updated the portal, users might be surprised to find they can now render games smoothly over cellular networks. Also, in the past, cellular networks could be used only via tethering, which does hamper the overall quality. As users can now make use of 4G and 5G services directly, they can expect better user experience.

Lot of Updates

This announcement is only one of many regarding Stadia since the platform’s launch. Some of the other updates, including making it available to Android phones, allowing wireless connectivity and finally launching a free service.

Phone Compatibility

One of the major announcements was that the platform no longer supported only a few smartphones. Recently, they opened up the Stadia app to all Android phones capable of downloading it. Most phones that work on an Android 6.0 OS or higher can now use the Stadia app. To enable the platform, users need first to download and install the app. Then, they must open settings, click on Experiments, and later Play on this device. However, most gamers were unsure of whether the app works on tablets. This helped open up a lot more gamers to the platform, which was available only to Pixel phone users when it launched. Later, by February, it added Samsung, Razer and Asus devices to its roster, before finally opening up to other Android users.

Wireless Connectivity

Six months after launching last November, Google announced that Stadia would work wirelessly with Android devices. During the launch, most users were left surprised that the tech giant did not include wireless controller support to the platform. Due to this, gamers had no option but to connect their controllers via USB to their device. With the announcement of wireless controller support, gamers got an opportunity to test how easily the platform can shift between devices, the web and Chromecast.

Over time, Google has been improving the Stadia platform, enabling 4K Streaming in March over the web, and then making the service free a month later in April. In April, Google also gave away a free trial Stadia Pro version to users for two months. Through this free version, gamers can access Thumper, GRID and Destiny 2, along with six other titles. Furthermore, existing paid users also got Stadia Pro for free for the same period, and a total of 14 countries got access to this free trial.

However, while the service is free and has a sleuth of new games now, Google has not been able to corner the gaming industry successfully. However, the giant promises to add more than 120 games by the end of 2020, ensuring that both game selection and the number of users will grow in the coming months.

Athulya

Being a cinephile with a love for all things outdoorsy, Athulya never misses a chance to chase inspiring stories or poke fun at things, even when the subject is herself. Currently pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering, she is someone innately interested in technical and scientific research. Music reviews and op-eds define her as they allow her to explore different perspectives. Though sometimes she thinks she makes more sense playing the guitar than she does while writing.

Stadia Starts Its Two-Month Free Trial Effective Immediately

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By Annasha

Google just made this quarantine period less miserable for the gamers. Most of the game developers or anyone who loves gaming doesn’t prefer getting away from that laptop screen. Yesterday Google Stadia announced that it will be launching a two-month free trial for Pro tier. And, this so far might be the best news for game developers this year.

Google Stadia’s free trail

Google Stadia has announced yesterday that it will be launching a free two-month trial pack. The users can use the Pro tier of it for free starting from this moment. The recipients of this free two-month service need to have a Gmail account to sign up. The pre-requisite is negligible as everyone has a Gmail account these days.

What do you need?

If you are a game lover or a developer, you surely have a compatible device and a controller. So, apart from signing into a Gmail account and having a device, all you need is good internet. And, you are ready to make the fullest of this trial pack. Since Google has announced the news yesterday; you can have access to the Pro edition by signing up now.

This Pro edition also comes with many in-built games including GRID, Destiny 2: The Collection, The Thumper, etc. And, they are all free for the users. Apart from this users can buy new games if he or she wishes to and play them. And, once you buy these games you can continue playing them even after the cancellation of Stadia Pro subscription.

Who can use it?

It is not for new users only. The existing customers can also use the new trail by signing up. Many users might think that they will have to pay as they are old subscribers. Google has made it free for everyone including new and existing users. So, who is using it already doesn’t need to pay the price they usually pay.

But, Google Stadia has made this available only in fourteen countries now. They are the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland.

The existing pack

Before this free trial, the users could only have access to Stadia through a $129 “Premiere Subscription”. The package came with a controller but a free base was also promised. Now, the dream of the free base has come true for the users. Though the users are very delighted, it’s pretty clear that the company didn’t have plans to release it now. But, the recent pandemic followed by the lockdown has made the situation intense.

VP and GM of Stadia have told that the world is going through a very tough time. In spite of this tough situation, people should find some way to socialize and spent time with their family and friends. And, video games are a good way to socialize with our friends while being at home. So, they did what was necessary for this situation.

Change in features

Google Stadia didn’t mention anything about the free base after the two-month trial is over. But, one of the Google representatives has mentioned that it exists. A permanent free base tier is available for the users who are signing up. The players can switch to that free base from the Pro after the free trial is over. But, the users have to play on 1080p, 60 frames per second and stereo sound. Everything comes with a limitation.

Once this trial pack is active, there will be a huge influx of new users. So, Stadia will make everyone’s streaming to 1080p from the default screen resolution of 4k. But, if you want you can change your preferences. Most of the players either prefer playing on PC, TV, or Laptop. But streaming to the phones and tablets is also an option now. But, this is not so good news for the iOS users as this feature is not available on iOS.

Apart from the iOS users, those who are planning to play from the phone can simply download the app and use it. For the PC or laptop users, Chrome is the pre=requisite. And, for those who are playing on television need a Chromecast Ultra. If you are not using your own keyboard and mouse, provide your own controller for playing. This will be a very big hit in the gaming market and for all players out there.