Google Stadia has been with us since November 2019 at this point (with a beta program open even earlier), but it's still not available on all the devices you might expect it to be. That could change in the future, as per a job listing posted by Google.
Spotted by 9to5Google, the listing for a Product Manager for Stadia makes a number of references to expanding the game streaming service: in particular, "making cloud gaming available on more devices" and working to "scale the ecosystem of devices" that support the requirements of Stadia.
TVs are specifically mentioned in the job listing, and smart TVs are definitely one area that Google Stadia could expand into. Last month, the service was made available on a select number of Android TV devices for the first time, including the Nvidia Shield TV.
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Think Samsung TVs that run on Tizen, for example, and the numerous Amazon Fire TV devices that are on the market. Roku streaming devices could be another potential target for plans to expand Google Stadia to more platforms and a wider range of hardware.
Stadia here to stay?
The advert for the job position should go some way to assuaging fears about the future of Google Stadia – fears that have grown from the sluggish development and expansion of Stadia, and the closure of its in-house game development studios earlier this year.
Google has a long history of investing in products and then shuttering them after a few years – from Google Wave to Inbox by Gmail – and there have been concerns that Stadia might be abandoned just as it's starting to gain some momentum.
What's certain is that Google is facing an increasing level of competition in the game streaming business. Amazon Luna and Nvidia GeForce Now are serious rivals, while Xbox Cloud Gaming from Microsoft recently expanded its list of compatible devices to include Windows PCs and Apple devices.
Having originally been available on Android, the Chromecast Ultra, and through the Chrome browser, Stadia has since made the jump to iOS and iPadOS in web app form, and might be appearing on next-gen consoles in the near future.
