Stadia on Chromecast Ultra May Get Better Support for 3rd Party Controllers

Google may soon make it easier to play with third-party controllers on Stadia with the Chromecast Ultra. Now you can also do that with ‘Tandem Mode’, but possession of a Stadia controller is still mandatory.

In the existing Tandem Mode, players gaming on Stadia on the Chromecast Ultra will be able to connect their third-party controller to their Stadia controller via USB. Although you do not directly use the Stadia controller for operation, it is still required.

In version 3.15 of the Android app, 9to5Google has found references to a new bridge mode in which you can put your phone. In it, your phone can also serve as the controller, with the buttons visible on the touchscreen. In line with this, however, it is also possible to connect a third-party controller to the phone, the input of which then goes to Stadia. It is not yet clear whether the controller must be connected to the phone via USB cable or whether a Bluetooth connection will also suffice.

References to the functions are included in a now available version of the app, but the function does not yet work. In addition to this feature, there is also talk of controlling Stadia volume with your phone, integration with Google Contacts to find fellow players more easily and a hotkey for activating the screen reader, which reads text for the visually impaired.

Google Stadia is not yet available for the latest version of the Chromecast, equipped with Google TV. It is possible to transfer the .apk to the new Chromecast and install it there. 9to5Google already found references to Google TV support in the Stadia app in April.

Image: Google Stadia via 9to5Google