Mobile gamers who hate being tied to their smartphones just got an early holiday present. Google is bringing Android games from Google Play to Windows laptops, PCs, and tablets.
Google announced a standalone Google Play Games launcher that lets gamers play mobile titles on Windows PCs at The Game Show Awards on Thursday. The upcoming app will allow players to close out of their game on one device and resume playing where they left off on another. This means you could switch between a Chromebook, Windows PC, and Android phone without losing saved data.
The app, which is being built and distributed by Google, runs games locally on your system, no cloud streaming required. So far, Google has only teased the service in a brief video clip, so some important details haven’t been revealed. We do, however, know it is set to arrive sometime in 2022.
Get ready to play your favorite @android games on your PC. Pick up where you left off anytime.
Google Play Games on PC, coming soon in 2022. Follow @GooglePlay to stay in the loop. pic.twitter.com/BfovbNSi5C
— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 10, 2021
Google clarified to Android Authority that this app does not represent a partnership between Google and Microsoft, but that the search giant is working on Google Play Games independently. This is significant because Microsoft partnered with Amazon, not Google, earlier this year to bring Android apps to Windows 11 PCs.
“Google Play has helped billions of people find and play their favourite games across multiple platforms, including on mobile, tablets and ChromeOS,” Games on Google Play Product Director Greg Hartrell told GameSpot. “Starting in 2022, this Google-built product brings the best of Google Play Games to more laptops and desktops, and we are thrilled to expand our platform for players to enjoy their favourite Android games even more.”
Bringing apps and games to more platforms is always a good thing, but I won’t be sold until Google reveals its plans to ensure these games both look and play great across a diverse range of Windows systems.