Google plans to bring Android games to Windows PCs next year. The Google Play Games app will be available in 2022, created by Google to allow games from Google Play to be played on laptops, tablets and Windows PCs.
One of the big selling points for Windows 11 when it was first announced was the support for running Android apps.
But not for all users, only Windows Insiders currently have access to the feature.
Microsoft has also partnered with Amazon’s Appstore, which limits the number of options. While Google Play offers over 2.5 million apps, Amazon’s alternatives only provide over 450,000.
Now Google is taking its own steps to expand even further. At The Game Awards yesterday, the company revealed that it will be bringing the desktop Play Games app to Windows.
It’s not just Windows 11, Google says apps are coming to Windows 10, which might piss Microsoft off.
Considering the company seems to be using Android emulators as a big incentive in encouraging users to upgrade to Windows 11. You also don’t need to use an additional emulator if you want to play Android games on Windows.
Supports Cross-Platform Features
via windows11
On Android, Play Games is Google’s umbrella term for a variety of game-related services including data sync, social media plugins, achievements, and leaderboards. According to company data, the service is used by 2.5 billion people every month.
It seems, Windows will go further by presenting features that support android applications running on PCs.
The company promises that users can switch between devices seamlessly. Later, they can use the cloud progress synchronization option from Android to Windows and vice versa.
“Starting in 2022, players will be able to experience their favorite Google Play games on more devices: seamlessly switch between phones, tablets, Chromebooks and Windows PCs,” Google’s director of games for Android and Google Play, Greg Hartrell, told The Verge.
Google explained that they had built the app themselves without partnering with Microsoft. Apart from arriving in 2022, Google hasn’t revealed many details, one of which is whether it will be limited to games or other apps as well.
Details about Google’s plans for Android apps on Windows first appeared in documents from the Epic v trial. Apple early 2022.
Dated October 2022, the 70-page document describes an ambitious effort to bring Android games to Mac and Windows PCs. The document reveals that Google will first bring “emulated, native and game streaming” to Windows, and it looks like their plans start in 2022.
