Today, Google Stadia announced it will add a search bar function to its web store. Yes: Google, the company that literally began as a search engine, finally realized its video game platform could use a search function.
“Search bar on Stadia for Web is rolling out now and will reach all players this week,” Stadia wrote in the announcement. “It will make finding your favorite games much easier.”
Prior to this update, users found games by browsing through the store by categories like “New Releases” and “On Sale,” or scrolling way down the store page to get to categories like “Action games” and “Shooter games.” I guess finally, in 2021, Google realized it should add the functionality it has arguably perfected.
The announcement also includes other updates, like an activity feed to share your gameplay shares and to see what the other seven Stadia users are playing. The ability to bulk delete screenshots and videos is also on the way. But search is the big news here. I’m genuinely curious as to how Stadia went almost two whole-ass years without it. Was Google so focused on bringing premium games to the platform that basic user friendliness was a low priority? Or was it simply forgotten, like all the game studios Google bought then discarded. Honestly I’m a little baffled that the function isn’t live right now. How long does Google expect users to suffer?
The comments section under the announcement is full of messages thanking Google for finally adding what should have been a day-one feature. It’s kinda heartbreaking in a “Damn, y’all really didn’t deserve to live like this” kind of way, but I guess better late than never.