Ahead of the Game Developers Conference next week, Google is announcing that all mobile Android games will be available by default on Google Play Games on PC unless a developer opts out. The change could significantly boost the number of games on the platform, as previously, developers had to opt in.
Google Play Games on PC was originally launched in beta in 2022 as a way for people to play Android games on their PC, and Google has been slowly expanding its availability and building on the program since then.
As part of its announcements on Thursday, Google is also introducing a new “playability badge” for mobile games that are available on PC to highlight how well they run. An “optimized” badge means a game “meets all of our quality standards for a great gaming experience” and a “playable” badge means a game “meets the minimum requirements to play well on a PC,” writes Aurash Mahbod, VP and GM of Games on Google Play. (The system sounds a bit like Steam’s badges for Steam Deck compatibility.)
However, if a game has an “untested” badge, that means a user will only see it if they specifically search for it, Google’s Nia Carter tells The Verge.
Google is investing more in bringing PC games to Google Play Games on PC as well. There are already more than 50 native PC titles on the platform, Carter says, and later this year, Google plans to open up its native PC program to all native PC developers so they can bring over their games, according to Mahbod.
Google is making Google Play Games on PC more widely available, too; the company has offered a limited catalog of games on AMD laptops and desktops, but Google will now offer the full catalog on AMD laptops and desktops. In addition, Google is “partnering with PC OEMs to make Google Play Games accessible right from the start menu on new devices starting this year,” Mahbod says. Google is also rolling out multi-account and multi-instance support for Google Play Games on PC this month.
Google will make Google Play Games on PC generally available this year, according to Mahbod.
