On June 23, full support for Stadia is coming to the Chromecast with Google TV, along with a handful of other Android TV devices.
Last year, with the launch of the Chromecast with Google TV, Google promised that their game streaming platform, Stadia, would be available on the device within the first half of 2021. Today, both Stadia and Nest have shared that Stadia will arrive on Google TV just one week ahead of that original deadline.
Side by side with the Chromecast, Stadia will also become officially available on a handful of Android TV and Google TV devices — including Walmart’s shockingly affordable $25 Onn dongle.
- Chromecast with Google TV
- Hisense® Android Smart TVs (U7G, U8G, U9G)
- Nvidia® Shield TV
- Nvidia® Shield TV Pro
- Onn™ FHD Streaming Stick and UHD Streaming Device
- Philips® 8215, 8505, and OLED 935/805 Series Android TVs
- Xiaomi® Mi Box 3 and Mi Box 4
If your favorite Android TV device isn’t included in the list, you’re still in luck. Just like on Android phones, Stadia is also allowing “experimental” gameplay from unsupported TVs. It’s likely numerous Android TV devices work with Stadia outside of the supported list, but you won’t be able to know without testing.
Once formally launched, Stadia will be installable from the Android TV Play Store, and will support the official controllers and many Bluetooth controllers. Beyond that, Google was surprisingly light on details shared about the upcoming app.
An included animation shows a noticeably different setup than currently seen when sideloading Stadia’s Android app to an Android TV, complete with an aura effect in the background that seems to match Google TV’s aesthetic.
One clue may lie in a recent discovery by Stadia code diver GemBearGaming, who found a new webpage that — depending on what device you open it on — either shows instructions on how to add an account to a “Chromecast” or shows a notice to “install the Stadia for Android TV application.”
Combined, these suggest that the Android TV app may have an experience similar to that of Stadia on the Chromecast Ultra, which allows you to add and remove accounts using the Stadia app for iOS or Android. By comparison, sideloading the Android app on Android TV only allows you to play from one account.
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