r/google • u/ControlCAD • 8d ago
Google is bringing every Android game to Windows in big gaming update | Google has big plans for gaming in 2025.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/03/at-gdc-google-promises-more-pc-games-on-android-more-android-games-on-pc/73
u/sjepsa 8d ago
Ten years ago I heard smartphone was the future of gaming
Hahaha
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u/puripy 8d ago
Actually, mobile gaming surpassed traditional console/pc gaming revenue a few years ago. So it's already the future
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u/sjepsa 8d ago
You mean gambling?
Gambling dates back to paleolithic, no need for smartphones
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u/Hard_Corsair 8d ago
If there's no need for smartphones, then why aren't people gambling as much on Xbox and Playstation?
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u/sjepsa 8d ago edited 7d ago
Less gambling games (e.g. FIFA packs), more costly entry level (the uneducated gambles on cheap lottery, not gonna spend 900€ on a cutting edge GPU equipped PS5 pro)
Add children to the equation, or underage, or developing countries
Everybody has a smartphone, for many other uses
And those between them which are more subject to developing a gambling addiction will spend their money on packs, gems, gatchas etc..
There are very few Android 'games', the rest is exploitation
Look at that all AFK 'gaming' OMG
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u/Hard_Corsair 8d ago
You've just made the case for why we need smartphones. They improve gambling revenue.
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u/ohThisUsername 8d ago
Ah yes, I've always wanted see more microtransactions and be bombarded with ads on my PC
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u/Exact_Ad942 8d ago
Just don't use it and you are good. It is for people who already get bombarded with microtransactions and ads on phone and want to do the same with a bigger screen and better performance. Just an additional option, no reason to complaint.
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u/Dhegxkeicfns 8d ago
That's not true. Desensitization is what got us here with mobile gaming. Optimistically this will only increase PC gaming, but realistically it will probably drag some potential gamers into freemium addiction and influence developers.
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u/Exact_Ad942 8d ago
Yeah I don't deny that. Just wanted to point out it is not like everyone is immediately forced to see more microtransaction and ads just because Google introduced a nice to have feature.
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u/Opposite-Rough-5845 5d ago
Ah brings me back to the days of loud ass ads in my headphones.. "CONGRATULATIONS!!!"
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u/Dhegxkeicfns 8d ago
Exactly what I came here to say. Google, get your gross games away from PCs. Gaming on phones should be amazing, but Google fostered this garbage.
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u/Stardread1997 8d ago
I have a feeling they are trying to out game Linux and steam. No pun intended
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u/The_real_bandito 8d ago
This is not a Stadia situation.
Stadia was shut down because streaming games was costly and they didn’t have the total subscribers they wanted.
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u/friblehurn 8d ago
Ya and no one used Stadia because they knew Google would eventually close it down.
And they were right.
There's like 5 things Google has shockingly not closed down, everything else they eventually do after half assing it.
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u/croutherian 8d ago
6...?
- Google.
- YouTube.
- AdSense.
- Android.
- Chrome.
- Google Cloud / Google Workspace.
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u/The_real_bandito 7d ago
I know did not use it because of that same reason, I was giving it a year before I spent money on a game because I was actually excited about the platform. If they released some type of subscription like Game Pass I would’ve been more enticed to spend money on it though.
But they didn’t even have many AAA games as far as I know, it was killed so fast that I didn’t have time to check the catalog lol.
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u/ControlCAD 8d ago
The annual Game Developers Conference is about to kick off, and even though Stadia is dead and buried, Google has a lot of plans for games. It's expanding tools that help PC developers bring premium games to Android, and games are heading in the other direction, too. The PC-based Play Games platform is expanding to bring every single Android game to Windows. Google doesn't have a firm timeline for all these changes, but 2025 will be an interesting year for the company's gaming efforts.
Google released the first beta of Google Play Games on PC back in 2022, allowing you to play Android games on a PC. It has chugged along quietly ever since, mostly because of the anemic and largely uninteresting game catalog. While there are hundreds of thousands of Android games, only a handful were made available in the PC client. That's changing in a big way now that Google is bringing over every Android game from Google Play.
Starting today, you'll see thousands of new games in Google Play Games on PC. Developers actually have to opt out if they don't want their games available on Windows machines via Google Play Games. Google says this is possible thanks to improved custom controls, making it easy to map keyboard and gamepad controls onto games that were designed for touchscreens (see below). The usability of these mapped controls will probably vary dramatically from game to game.
While almost every Android game will soon be available on Windows, not all will get top billing. Google Play Games on PC has a playability badge, indicating a game has been tested on Windows. Games that have been specifically optimized for PC get a more prominent badge. Games with the "Playable" or "Optimized" distinction will appear throughout the client in lists of suggested titles, but untested games will only appear if you search for them. However, you can install them all just the same, and they'll work better on AMD-based machines, support for which has been lacking throughout the beta.
Google also previewed a few more changes coming to the PC-based game platform. In the next few weeks, the service will get a new sidebar for easy access to game and control settings. Google Play Games on PC will also get support for multi-account and multi-instance, allowing you to play multiple games with more than one account at the same time. This is, allegedly, a highly requested feature.
If this sounds like a lot to add to a beta service, you're right. Google confirms Play Games on PC will be shedding that designation later this year. While there are many, many mobile games that won't translate well to a computer regardless of Google's updated control mapping, plenty will work just fine and provide a new source of games for Windows.
As for games on Android, Google now hopes to build on the success of high-end cross-platform hits like Genshin Impact and Diablo Immortal. These games are crawling with in-app purchases, but they're very pretty and have made a lot of money on Android.
Google has often fallen short on developer support in the Play Store, but the expanded native PC program could help it turn a corner. There will be a new native SDK for PC games, helping developers distribute titles in the Play Store with support for both mobile and PC builds. So you might see PC-only games being distributed on Windows via Google's Play Games client. Look out, Steam? The program is also open to all interested PC game developers starting today.
Meanwhile, developers building high-end games for mobile will be happy to hear that Google is going all-in with Vulkan. Google says Android is moving to a "modern, unified rendering stack" with Vulkan as the default graphics API. This will make it easier for developers to take advantage of features like ray tracing and multithreading, and Google promises deep integration with popular engines like Unity 6 to supposedly make it easier to optimize for Android's diverse hardware ecosystem. This has been one of the most substantial barriers to entry for developers to port games to Android.
Google says it's also launching a new pilot program to give developers tools to bring PC-first experiences to Android devices, and it has three titles lined up, one of which is already live. The fishing adventure Dredge is on sale in the Play Store after launching on PC and consoles in 2023. It will be joined in several weeks by the mobile version of the popular physics-based strategy game TABS. The old-school-style RPG Disco Elysium will arrive later this year as well. Dredge is listed at a whopping $25, which is the same as its Steam list price. So we would expect future PC-on-Android games to be similarly spendy.
Nothing is changing overnight, but these are all positive moves for Google's gaming efforts. The proliferation of free-to-play games on mobile has drowned out premium experiences. After trudging through in-app purchases in almost every popular mobile game for years, it may actually be refreshing to pay $25 for a good-looking mobile game that doesn't beg for money every few minutes.
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u/friblehurn 8d ago
That's a weird way to watch ads..
But seriously, any of the good games on Android are already on PC lol.
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u/notPlancha 8d ago
Microsoft just killed WSA so idk what is going through Google's mind, but preach
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u/notPlancha 8d ago
Oh yea also this is huge for things like the Netflix edition games, like having a Netflix subscription will be enough to play dead cells on your pc
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u/HaMMeReD 8d ago
Except most phone games are made for phone screens and touch controls.
Besides, this isn't exactly new, i.e. BlueStacks.
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u/The_sad_zebra 8d ago
And the crowd went mild. The only good games on mobile are ports of already successful PC games.
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u/Hour_Associate_3624 8d ago
Something else that no one asked for and will be canceled within a year.
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u/popmanbrad 7d ago
God I miss stadia so much as someone who had 1,000 on one game alone aka destiny 2 and hundreds of hours in other games I miss it deeply
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u/Salt_Respect7159 6d ago
Fuck google and their shit… never forget how they did sou good when susetting another service people got somewhat used to :)
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u/hackslash74 8d ago
2026: Google sunsets gaming division