Android games are now officially available on PCs, with Google launching the new Play Games app for Windows in beta, bringing a collection of games, starting with gamers in select areas.
In recent years, Google has been putting effort into making the tech in your life work better together, particularly by syncing your information between devices. One particularly ambitious effort is that of “ambient computing,” or doing whatever you want from whatever device you have handy.
While we may often think about this in the direction of doing complicated tasks on simple devices like a smart speaker, it can also work the other way. Starting today, Google Play Games is an excellent example of this, allowing you to easily play the games you enjoy on your Android phone from the comfort of your desktop or laptop, which is more powerful than your phone.
As teased in December during The Game Awards, Google Play Games is now available in beta as a client for downloading games to a Windows PC. Importantly, these games will automatically sync your progress between your Android phone, tablet, PC, and any other device signed in with Play Games.
To start, only a limited library of games will be available for beta testers to play, with Android game developers encouraged to optimize their games for this new platform, including added support for playing with a full keyboard and mouse instead of with a touchscreen. While no official list has been shared, 12 different games are showcased in various parts of a new video.
- Asphalt 9: Legends
- Cookie Run: Kingdom
- Cookie Run: Ovenbreak
- Dragon Mania Legends
- Gardenscapes
- Homescapes
- Idle Heroes
- Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
- State of Survival: The Joker Collaboration
- Summoners War
- 三國志・戰略版 (Three Kingdoms Tactics)
- Top War: Battle Game
For now, the Play Games beta for Windows PCs is only available to gamers in South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, but Google has said they will be expanding to more regions soon. If you’re a gamer in one of the currently supported areas, and you have a Windows PC with reasonably good specs you can sign up for the Google Play Games beta today.
Update 3/14: Invites appear to finally be rolling out for the Google Play Games beta (via Mishaal Rahman), with select gamers in Asia now gaining access to the client. So far, no one has demonstrated how well the gameplay works, but a video has been shared of the Google Play Games for PC client in action.
Unsurprisingly, the client looks almost identical to how it appeared in the original trailer shown by Google when beta signups first opened. With players now able to properly test their favorite Android games on Windows, things are now moving closer to Google Play Games on PC launching in more areas.
If the Google Play Games beta is available to you, be sure to reach out to let us know how well it works.
Author: Kyle Bradshaw
Source: 9TO5Google
