Google Play Games

Google Play Games is an online video gaming service by Google for Microsoft Windows, Chromebooks, and Android devices.

Google Play Games
Developer(s)Google
Initial releaseJuly 24, 2013 (2013-07-24)
Stable release(s) [±]
Android2022.01.32371 / February 1, 2022 (2022-02-01)[1]
Android TV2022.01.32371 / January 26, 2022 (2022-01-26)[2]
Operating systemAndroid
Windows (beta)
PlatformAndroid
Windows (beta)
TypeOnline service
WebsiteGoogle Play Games on PC and Google Play Games on Google Play

Google Play Games on Android, launched in 2013, features "instant play" games, gamer profiles, saved games and achievements. Google Play Games for PC Beta launched in 2022 with a curated set of Android games optimized for Windows and Chromebooks. The user gamer profile syncs across Google Play Games on PCs and mobile devices.

History

The Google Play Games service was introduced at the Google I/O 2013 Developer Conference,[3] and the standalone Google Play Games mobile app was launched for Android on July 24, 2013.[4] Andrew Webster of The Verge compared Google Play Games to Game Center, a similar gaming network for users of Apple Inc.'s own iOS operating system.[3]

Google Play Games has received updates over the years since its launch, including a screen-recording feature,[5] custom gamer IDs,[6] built-in games,[7] and an arcade for game discovery. After the launch of Google Play Games, popular mobile game titles, such as Clash of Clans and Clash Royale[8], have been added to Google Play Games' catalog.

Real-time and turn-based multiplayer services have been deprecated since September 16, 2019. Support for these API functions ended on March 31, 2020.[9]

On December 9, 2021 at The Game Awards, Google announced that Google Play Games beta would launch in early 2022, bringing Android games to Windows PCs and laptops.[10] On January 19, 2022, Google Play Games officially rolled out a beta experience of the product with a select catalog of games to a waitlist of users in Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.[11] The beta rollout continued on August 25, 2022 by making Google Play Games beta available for download to all players in Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand and Australia with an expanded catalog of game titles.[12]

On November 2, 2022, the global expansion of Google Play Games beta continued and the product launched to all users in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore.[13] Six months later, on April 19, 2023, Google Play Games launched to all users in Japan.[14]

On May 22, 2023, Google Play Games launched to users in Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.[15]

On July 10, 2023, Google Play Games launched to users in Albania, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivore, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Gabon, Ghana, Gibraltar, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Macau, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.[16]

The minimum specification requirements to run Google Play Games are currently for players who have a PC running Windows 10 or later with an integrated graphics card & quad-core CPU that can access Google Play Games beta (previously octo-core CPU).[17]

References
  1. "Google Play Games". APKMirror. Anddroid Police.
  2. "Google Play Games (Android TV)". APKMirror. Android Police.
  3. Webster, Andrew (May 15, 2013). "Google announces Play game services, Android's cross-platform answer to Game Center". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  4. Ingraham, Nathan (July 24, 2013). "Google takes on Game Center with Google Play Games for Android". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  5. Curtis, Duncan (October 28, 2015). "Google Play Games: capture and share the moment". Official Android Blog. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  6. Frenkel, Benjamin (February 18, 2016). "Embrace your inner gaming hero with Gamer ID". The Keyword Google Blog. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  7. "Google Play Games gets new mini-games and redesign in version 5.3". Android Authority. November 13, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  8. "Clash of Clans and Clash Royale are now officially available on PC!". Supercell. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  9. "Ending support for multiplayer APIs in Play Games Services - Play Console Help". Google Support. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  10. Li, Abner (2021-12-10). "Android gaming is officially coming to Windows with 'Google Play Games' PC app in 2022". 9to5Google. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
  11. "Google Play Games beta launches on PC in Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong". Android Developers Blog. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
  12. Bradshaw, Kyle (2022-08-24). "Play Games for PC enters open beta, lowering required specs and adding more games". 9to5Google. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
  13. Warren, Tom (2022-11-02). "Google Play Android games now available on PC in beta". The Verge. Retrieved 2022-11-02.
  14. Mathur, Chandraveer (2023-04-19). "Google Play Games for PC picks up new Japanese games as beta extends to the nation". Android Police. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  15. Weatherbed, Jess (2023-05-25). "Google expands Play Games for PC beta to Europe and New Zealand". The Verge. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  16. Mehta, Ivan (2023-07-14). "Google Play Games beta for PC expands to over 60 new countries including India". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  17. Mehta, Ivan (2022-08-24). "Google Play Games for PC is now available in five countries". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
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