When Google announced that it would allow users to unlock their Stadia controllers Bluetooth capabilities for use with other platforms, I was over the moon. To this day, my Stadia hardware is my absolute favorite gaming controller to use. The idea of using my three controllers with our newly acquired Nintendo Switch got me really excited about console gaming for the first time in, well, I don’t remember.
Anyway, my excitement was short lived when I unlocked my Stadia controllers only to find that the Switch did not recognize them. Granted, I can still play GeForce Now with my awesome Google gaming hardware but I got the Switch for Christmas so the entire family could enjoy game night together and I really wanted to use my Stadia controllers for that task. I wasn’t expecting Nintendo to address this issue but I have hopes that perhaps Google could roll out a future update that would make the Stadia controller compatible with the Switch. Not holding my breath but you never know.
Thankfully, my cries and those of many like me did not go unheard. As a matter of fact, when I first wrote about how to unlock your Stadia controllers, there were already users in third-party forums asking for ways to use the controller with a Switch. For those of you familiar with the company, the answer has arrived compliments of 8BitDo. For the uninitiated, 8BitDo is a third-party video game hardware designer that specializes in retro-style controllers and the like. Along with a nice selection of multi-platform wireless and USB controllers, 8BitDo makes some very nice hardware specifically for the Switch but that’s not all.
8BitDo also makes a handy little USB dongle that acts as a wireless receiver for “most gaming controllers.” Like a Lenovo USB dongle, you simply plug it into your device and it acts as a go-between for your console/PC and your controllers. Users in the 8BitDo Reddit were quick to ask when the company might bring support for Stadia controllers and Switch to the adapter and the company wasted no time gathering a response.
Last week, u/Knighthawk762 shared in the Stadia Reddit that 8BitDo had shared with him a Beta download for the USB adapter that would allow it to work with the Stadia controller with Switch support. A number of commenters have shared that this is, indeed working for them but there are some missing functionality such as rumble but hey, it’s a great start. I’d bet that 8BitDo will get this update tweaked and working perfectly in the very near future and hopefully, we’ll soon have a stable build of the firmware for the USB adapter. I will most definitely be ordering a couple of these dongles for my Switch. You can pick them up at your local Best Buy or online for $19.99.
Source: Reddit
