Google Stadia’s wireless controller will only work on TV with Chromecast Ultra at launch, Google has revealed today.
Google Stadia’s wireless controller will only work on TV with Chromecast Ultra at launch, Google has revealed today.
In an unexpected turn of events, your Stadia wireless controller will take a while to be fully wireless, it seems, as Google wants to make sure it works at its best on TV first before rolling wireless support onto all the other platforms.
“As for wireless gameplay, this is limited to Chromecast Ultra,” a community manager told fans on Reddit (thanks, IGN). “When plugged in via USB cable, the Stadia Controller acts as a standard USB HID controller and may work on other platforms depending on the game and setup.”
A statement was also provided to The Verge, with the website now reporting that “Google tells us it’s focusing on getting the wireless play right on TV first because it wants that big screen experience to be as good as possible.”
So, recapping all the information we have today, your Founder’s or Premier Edition of Stadia grants you with a controller you don’t need – because your wired controller will also be compatible if you use Stadia on PC -, a Chromecast Ultra you don’t need – because Stadia works on your regular Chrome browser – and a copy of Destiny 2, which is to a certain degree free for everyone right now.
Not the meatiest launch of all time, you might say, and on top of that, I don’t get how people with Pixel devices, which are official Google products, will get to play their games on their smartphones (the only mobile platforms supported at launch) outside of quirky touch inputs.
