Stadia, Google’s game-streaming platform, was promised to be working a lot of devices you already have right now.. except it’s not at launch. The launch period saw only those that ordered the Founder’s Edition and Premier Edition get to play first. And that specific Chromecast Ultra it’s bundled with is the only versions that can run Stadia when plugged into a TV.
Now, if you already have a Chromecast Ultra, it has been updated to support Stadia.
If you have access to Stadia already, we have some good news to share. We have rolled out an update to existing Chromecast Ultras that allow them to work with Stadia. Grab your Stadia Controller, sync it to any Chromecast Ultra & start playing on an additional TV in your house.
— Stadia (@GoogleStadia) December 18, 2019
At least Google is rolling out the availability of Stadia. It still needs to do more work though. The Stadia mobile app, one of two apps to get Stadia running, is still locked to specific Pixel phones for Android- though there is a workaround available for rooted devices. And of course, Stadia isn’t available outside of North America and Europe is also another thing.
Right now, the idea of not buying a console and stream games is more of a hassle, especially when the games on Stadia right now aren’t using the ambitious ideas Google has for it and are just another port but as a stream. There’s still a lot of work needed to be done, and this is one tiny step of that.