– unsplash
During the annual Google for Game Developers Summit, Google announced that Google Play Games for PC would be available in Japanese and other European markets.
The service will also offer new titles and tools for game developers to bring Android games to Windows. It also allows gamers to continue playing from where they left off on one device when switching to another, a feature many Apple-focused games offer when users shift between their iPhone, iPad and Mac devices.
Beta testers can access more than 25 games, allowing them to experiment with well-known mobile games such as Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Summoners War, State of Survival: The Joker Collaboration and Three Kingdoms Tactic.
Several well-known games, such as a battle royale game Garena Free Fire, a Ludo King and Fantasy MMORPG MapleStory M, will be added to the service soon.
The Google Play Games service was first launched in select overseas markets such as Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan. In November, it was introduced to the U.S. and other countries, and it is currently available in 13 markets, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
Google Play Games for PC to roll out to Europe and Japan, add new titles including Garena Free Fire https://t.co/3fFzCV4US2 by @sarahintampa
— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) March 14, 2023
While it is still in the beta phase, Google Play Games for PC requires users to operate Windows 10 on a computer with an Intel UHD Graphics 630 GPU or an equivalent, 8 GB of RAM, 4 CPU physical cores and 10 GB of storage capacity on a solid-state drive (SSD).
Google Play Games for PC was introduced after Microsoft’s recent initiative to incorporate Android apps into Windows 11. It involved a collaboration with Amazon and its Amazon Appstore, indicating a growing demand for cross-platform gameplay.
However, unlike Microsoft’s partnership with Amazon, the Google Play Games for PC app is developed and distributed independently by Google.
Google’s tools for developers
Google also has been rolling out new tools and features for game developers, including an emulator for a developer-focused version of Google Play Games.
This emulator will help the debug and build process, enabling developers to deploy games directly by sideloading APKs using ADB commands. Developers can also adjust graphics and hardware settings via Android Studio.
Google has partnered with Intel to simplify the process for developers to join Google Play Games on PC with their existing mobile builds. Developers can now apply to join the service if a mobile game is compatible with Windows.
Google also announced various other resources for game developers, including a new checklist for release to ensure that all essential measures are taken before submitting a build for approval.
It has added more metrics for games in Android vitals, including frame rate metrics to allow developers to verify if their games offer at least 30 frames per second, which is the technical requirement for Google Play Games for PC. The frame rate metrics are available in Play Console and the Developer Reporting API.
Google Play will offer early access to Machine Translation in the Play Console. This move will enable developers to translate their games into more than eight languages, including Simplified Chinese and Japanese.
Google will also introduce Next Generation Player IDs soon, keeping a user’s Player ID uniform across various platforms for any game while ensuring their uniqueness across different games. This feature, powered by Play Games Services, is expected to be launched later this year.
