A few months ago in June, a Stadia app update added (unofficial) support for Android TV. To get it up and running, you need a mouse, a Bluetooth controller, and you have to sideload the Stadia phone app including some weird scaling, all of which makes it more of a proof of concept right now. The latest Stadia update to version 2.26 doesn't quite fix any of these gripes, but at least you don't need a mouse to navigate the Stadia store and game selector anymore — controllers are finally supported for that.

As 9to5Google notes, you'll still need a mouse for setup, though, so the path to Stadia on Android TV hasn't changed too much. At least this shows that Google is continuing to work on the Stadia app, making it more versatile. Maybe we won't even have to wait too long until the game streaming service properly launches on Android TV.

If you want to give Stadia a go on your TV right now, 9to5Google describes the surprisingly simple (if slightly awkward) process. Just sideload this latest version of the Stadia app — which is to say, download and install it manually via our sister site APK Mirror — fire it up via the Android TV launcher, and use that mouse to follow the setup process, since the Android version of the app doesn't play nice with Android TV's controls. According to the video above, it's about that simple.

Once you're logged in, it looks like you still might need that mouse to get past a new prompt — Google considers support for all but a handful of phones as "experimental" right now — and you'll also be stuck in a weird portrait mode until you launch a game. Still, it works! Also note, @androidtv_rumor says that the Shield remote app circumvents the need for a mouse.

9to5Google tested it with an Xbox controller and Google's ADT-3 Android TV developer device, but it should probably work with other hardware as well. The hardest part is sideloading the app. On Android TV, that's a bit of a process (you'll need to allow apps from unknown sources in Settings and then find a way to access the APK either through cloud storage or some other method) but if you can get it working, you can enjoy Stadia from your Android TV.

Source: 9to5Google