Stadia may be getting ready to launch touchscreen gameplay, an Android TV app, more

In a new APK Insights report, 9to5Google has found code buried in version 3.9 of the Stadia application for Android that points to several new features that may be coming to gamers very soon. To be clear, just because code exists in the application does not point to a definitive release for said features, but rather it simply means that the Stadia team is testing them. Many of these features – like the touch-enabled gamepad – do come to the masses with an official release, but there is no guarantee.

With that disclaimer out of the way, let’s take a look at what secrets the app is holding. First up, we have code strings for a full touchscreen experience for Stadia games! Specific titles that will support this feature upon its potential release should be able to be controlled one-hundred percent with tap and swipe controls. This means that it may emulate that of an Android game – no gamepad, virtual or physical needed! This is huge, and I definitely saw this coming. I’ve actually got a lot to say on this and will break it down separately at a later time. Along with the code below, you will notice that the feature image for this article has a neat graphic – that comes directly from this position in the app’s code and looks to explain the touch feature. I believe that Reigns will be able to utilize this at launch, but that’s just an educated guess – more on that later.

– Enable direct touch
– This game supports direct touch
– Play this game without a controller by tapping, swiping, and/or pinching the elements on the screen. You can still connect a controller using Bluetooth, USB, or the linking code on the home screen.

In addition to direct touchscreen gameplay, there is also code that refers to something called ‘Player notes’. In applications like Discord, you can right-click a friend’s name and ‘Add a note’ that helps you identify them as their real name even when they change their display name (sometimes several times!) It can be helpful to know who is using this sort of feature. It looks as though Stadia may also be adding this to the app soon. You can use Player notes to notate more than just a name – perhaps what you intend or promised to play with a certain individual or something of that nature. I have to be honest – I have no idea who almost anyone on my Stadia acquaintance friends list is anymore, and this will be really useful to me!

– Player note
– Add a note
– Write a short note to remind yourself of how you know this person
– Note was not saved. Try again.

If you would like to see more features hosted in the app code, I recommend you check out 9to5’s APK Insights breakdown, but other items include the ability to rewind or fast forward video captures by five seconds at a time instead of just playing or pausing them, more hints at an upcoming party chat, and of course, the thing we’re probably the most excited for – the Android TV app!

With strings referring to the installation of the app on Android TV devices, and account creation too, there’s nothing super new here in the way of what it’s capable of, but the fact that it will finally be, well, a thing after Google has staved it off for so long is just refreshing. I had nearly given up on the idea of playing Stadia on my living room TV, and that’s just sad. What’s unique about the Android TV app compared to the Chromecast app, for example, is that the former will likely allow you to peruse the Stadia Store and even purchase things from it – though probably not at launch (no surprise there, I guess).

Stadia payments aren’t working on this TV right now. Open Stadia on your mobile device or computer and buy this item in the store.

You could already previously snag in-game purchases in the app on televisions, but not full games, so I hope this remedies that as well. We’ll have to sit tight and wait to see what comes of these insights and how much of it gets the chopping block before the rest comes to us in the form of an official release. I wager that pretty much everything here will release almost entirely in its current form, but again, there are only two things that are guaranteed in life, and Google features aren’t always one of them.

Kudos to 9to5Google for their awesome APK Insights