Google Stadia may be shutting down in just a couple of days, but that hasn’t stopped Google from releasing one last game for the ill-fated streaming device.
Worm, which is now available to play on Google Stadia, will be very familiar to anyone who owned a phone in the early 2000s. It’s essentially a Snake game, albeit with some modern flourishes, such as colorful visuals and multiple game modes.
If you kept your Google Stadia subscription to the bitter end, you can give Worm Game a shot by going to its Stadia page. (Opens in a new tab). You can even try it out for free, for a whopping three hours, with your Google Stadia trial.
You may have seen one last match coming to Stadia today. It’s humble 🧡 Thank you 💜 for playing from our team. Find it here: https://t.co/PyAUH181v1January 13, 2023
Don’t be so quick to think that Google released a version of Snake as a joke. Worm Game’s store page states that the game was used to test several Google Stadia features, from its 2019 launch until its imminent demise.
And as with its Snake-likes, Worm Game is definitely a mite more involved than what you’d run on your Nokia 3310 on long car trips to Wales. It’s not much to write home about, but at least it’s an important footnote in the short history of Google Stadia.
proper end?
Google Stadia’s January 18 shutdown didn’t come as a surprise. Its eccentric subscription model paired with inconsistent streaming quality has left the device frosty with all its loyal supporters.
Stadia hasn’t been completely devoid of wins. I’m a huge fan of Google Stadia’s excellent controller, and now that Google has finally confirmed Bluetooth support, the pad has at least been given a new lease on life. At least for gamers who want to continue using it wirelessly on PC, and hopefully on other devices and consoles.
Unfortunately for Google, a bunch of other streaming services like GeForce Now and Xbox Cloud Gaming have offered much more attractive game libraries, with better quality streaming. As a result, Stadia has been unable to find a large, dedicated audience across PC, mobile, and console.
The streaming service itself doesn’t go out with much fanfare, but I’d definitely argue it’s not just a grumble, as evidenced by the Worm Game’s release. It’s clearly an important game for Google Stadia’s development, however rudimentary and basic it may be.
It remains to be seen if Google eventually decides to tip its hat to the game broadcast loop. But if that happens, the tech giant had better learn the lessons of the drawbacks of its first try.