Google is making some big moves with Google Play Games on PC and one of them is bringing more Android games to the platform. And it’s not just Android games getting more attention. Google is also stepping up its efforts to bring native PC games to Google Play Games.
Starting soon, every Android game will be available on PC by default unless the developer specifically opts out. Before this, game developers had to opt in, which meant the catalogue was way smaller.
Pushing to Blur the Lines Between Mobile and Desktop Gaming
Right now, there are more than 50 native PC games available on Google Play Games. Later this year, Google plans to let all PC developers bring their games over. And to make it easier to tell which games actually run well on PC, Google is introducing playability badges.
If a game is labelled as ‘optimized,’ it meets all of Google’s quality standards for a great experience. A ‘playable’ badge means it meets the minimum requirements while ‘untested’ games won’t show up in normal browsing and you’d have to search for it directly.
It probably reminds you of Steam’s compatibility badges for the Steam Deck which is quite similar. And speaking of Steam, if Google is successful in bringing all its (or most of its) Android games to PC, it could be a real threat to Steam.
On the flip side, Google Play Games is adding some well-known PC games to Android devices. Dredge is already out while TABS Mobile and Disco Elysium are joining later this year. These PC-to-mobile ports will be completely optimized for touchscreens.
If Google can actually make the cross-platform setup work smoothly, imagine buying a game once and being able to play it on both your phone and PC without any extra hassle. Meanwhile, read the official blog post by Google to learn more about what else they’re planning for games.
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