It is possible to use Stadia controllers plugged into a PC or a smartphone. That said, if you want to use them wirelessly, they officially only work with Google’s streaming service. A programmer named Parth Shah created software to circumvent this limitation.
The news of the closure of Stadia, announced as effective from January 2023, shocked more than one subscriber to the service. Beyond the frustration of no longer being able to take advantage of Google’s game streaming service, platform enthusiasts quickly wondered what to do with the hardware that remains in their hands. In effect, Stadia controllers cost €69 new, and now that the end of service has been announced, no one will reasonably want to buy them second-hand. It is possible to use them on a smartphone and on a computer, but in this case, you have to plug them in, which is a bit irritating when you know that they have Bluetooth capabilities.
Stadia controllers send game data directly to Google’s servers. They officially only work with Stadia games, which means that at the deactivation of the service, announced for January 18, 2023, they will, in theory, be useless and will add to the long list of perfectly working but unused electronic accessories, unless you don’t mind using them wired. The most DIY Stadia subscribers fortunately did not wait for Google to announce the end of its streaming game service to try to use the wireless capabilities of the controller on other media.
Playing with the controller wirelessly outside of Stadia is possible, but a bit tedious
Many netizens have been trying to find a way to use Stadia controller to play on PC without cable. While most of the procedures are not really complicated, they are no less tedious, and let’s face it, if you’re going to play a game of casual gaming, this is probably a good way to demotivate you. A little bit of material and patience will be needed to achieve your goals. Knowing that none of the solutions found so far is perfect, because they all require connect the controller to a smartphonethe most successful technique to date comes from a man named Parth Shah.
The latter has designed StadiaWireless, a server that allows you to use the Stadia controller through your home’s Wi-Fi. To use it, you need an Android smartphone that will act as a gateway between the controller and the computer. The Python language must be installed on your Windows PC. Once the program has been unzipped, it will open a server whose URL must be copied (by right-clicking on its icon in the Windows taskbar).
Once this address is entered in the smartphone browser, the PC and the controller will indeed be synchronized. StadiaWireless is functional, but everyone is well aware that the final solution to this problem will probably come from Google. Players have asked the company to make the controller Bluetooth compatible despite the shutdown. Hopefully their call will be heard and firmware will be released soon.