Stadia on Android TV works a little better today thanks to a new update for the app.
If you have an Android TV device and you want to play Stadia games on it, you can do so more enjoyably. Because the app now lets you use controller input outside of gameplay.
This wasn’t always the case and navigating around the menus required you to connect a keyboard and mouse. Which isn’t something that everyone can generally do. Now, you don’t have to. You can simply use the controller if you want to browse your game library or the store for a new title to purchase.
Controller support on Stadia for Android TV doesn’t require any special setup
Initially getting things to work Android TV was a pain in the neck. It’s still kind of a pain in the neck, but getting the controller working is not.
In fact, getting the controller to work is really just quite easy. All you need to do is connect a controller to the Android TV like you would for any games from the Play Store. Which means there’s no special setup required here.
From there just launch the Stadia app and use it like you would for the Chromecast Ultra or on Chrome. That makes the onboarding process for everything a pretty simple process. And although things could still be a little smoother, they work and that’s the important part.
9To5Google reports that you do still need to use the mouse to setup the Stadia app. So if you want to play on Android TV, you will have to connect a Bluetooth mouse to sign into the app and get it connected to your account.
You can’t use the Stadia controller
Keeping all of this in mind, this will work for any controller that you can currently connect to Android TV.
That excludes the Stadia controller. Unfortunately. Because that specifically needs a connection to the Chromecast Ultra for TV use. If you want to play on Android TV, then you will need a Bluetooth controller of some kind.
You could something like the Xbox One wireless controller or the DualShock 4. The SHIELD controller would also work as would Bluetooth-powered mobile game pads, like the Razer Junglecat.
Google may eventually support the Stadia controller for Android TV. Perhaps after the app officially gets an Android TV release. For now though it’s still limited to CCU, Chrome on desktop, and Android devices.