Launched back in 2019, Google Stadia is a cloud gaming service that was created to compete with the likes of Sony's PlayStation Plus cloud streaming, Nvidia GeForce Now, Amazon's Luna, and Microsoft's Xbox Cloud Gaming.
What it does, is allowing players to have access to games instantaneously, and on the go. Using whatever device they have, and wherever they are, players who have access to the internet can use Stadia to play the many games Stadia offers.
It was an expensive investment from Google into the video game industry.
The thing is, Stadia was received with mixed reviews, and while it does work, the high cost of games, lack of features, small library, and internet costs, are dooming the service.
In short, Stadia couldn't compete, and Google is ending the service on January 18, 2023.
You might have seen one last game arrive on Stadia today. It's a humble thanks for playing from our team.
Find it here: https://t.co/PyAUH181v1— Stadia (@GoogleStadia) January 13, 2023
But before its days are over, Stadia is publishing one final game.
The game is called 'Worm Game'.
The game was internally developed by Google, and was already in tests long before Stadia became a public service.
"Play the game that came to Stadia before Stadia came to the world," the game says. "'Worm Game' is a humble title we used to test many of Stadia’s features, starting well before our 2019 public launch, right through 2022. It won’t win Game of the Year, but the Stadia team spent a LOT of time playing it, and we thought we’d share it with you. Thanks for playing, and for everything."
Worm Game is not an open-world game, an RPG or something like that. Instead, Worm Game is a Snake-like game.
It only sports a rudimentary graphics and yesteryears' menus.
But regardless, Stadia isn't releasing Worm Game for profit.
The game is available for free, while it lasts, before Stadia shuts down.
It's only a way for the developers of the game to provide something to the community, in one final treat.
We've also got Bluetooth news: next week we'll be releasing a self-serve tool to enable Bluetooth connections on your Stadia Controller.
We'll share details here on release. pic.twitter.com/6vYomngfmA— Stadia (@GoogleStadia) January 13, 2023
In another Stadia news, Google also confirmed that it would allow players to unlock the Bluetooth functionally of its Stadia controller.
What this means, Google wants to allow users who own its Stadia controller, to use the device to play just about any game title, as long as it has gamepad support, and is able to recognizes the hardware in the first place.
"We’ll share details next week on how to enable this feature,” said a Google Stadia community manager in a forum post.
Google originally launched the Stadia Controller as a device that connects directly to Stadia services. But apparently, the device was shipped with a disabled Bluetooth chip. After news broke of the Stadia shutdown, players have been finding ways to save the controller from becoming an e-waste.
To do this, workarounds are needed.
But with Google unlocking the Bluetooth functionality of the Stadia controller, workarounds like connecting to an Android device are no longer needed.