By
Delia
/ Last
update
January 20, 2022
Google announced last year that it would launch a PC version of its Google Play Games app that would allow Window computers to play Android games as well. Today, Google announced that it is opening registration in some regions to test it. The beta will be available first in Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong, and Google says it will have more information about future beta versions soon.
Google Play Games let you play Android games on Windows
Officially, Google Play Games is a PC app that lets you browse, download and play some of your mobile games on your Windows desktop or laptop. In addition to playing your favorite Android games on your PC, you can use your keyboard and mouse, sync seamlessly between devices, and integrate with Google Play Points.
Android games will be available in a separate app called Google Play Games, which will include popular handheld games including Mobile Legends, Summoners War, State of Survival, Three Kingdoms Tactics and more.
Google's self-developed launcher will let players browse, download and play Android games on their computers, supporting seamless cross-platform integration. The official description says that by logging into a Google account once, you can synchronize game progress and libraries between different devices. Start a game on your phone, switch to your PC to play it, and then continue on your phone.
Most importantly, Google says mobile games played through the Google Play app will support mouse and keyboard input and be optimized for larger screens.
Google helps developers to optimize apps for Windows compatibility
To make Google Play a success on PC, developers need to make sure their games are compatible with larger screens and that mouse/keyboard input functions properly. Incompatibility between the aspect ratio of apps and the aspect ratio of screens has been an issue for several years with running apps on larger Android tablets, and only now is Google taking some steps toward this by introducing Android 12L, the larger-screen version of the company's mobile operating system.
Google has released more detailed instructions to help developers optimize their existing apps to be compatible with Windows PCs.
If you're in Korea, Taiwan or Hong Kong and want to try out the beta, you can go to the official website and press the "Join the Waiting List" button to get in the queue to access Google Play Games. But if you are not in these areas, the page will display “The beta isn’t available in your region yet”.
At this time, Google has not revealed when it will launch the Google Play Games app for PC to the public, but the app will be available sometime in 2022. Until then, users can still play Android games on Windows PCs using various Android emulators.