Google competes directly with Steam and Epic by offering its own games for PC Author: Vlad Cherevko, yesterday, 23:42
Google is expanding its catalog of first-party PC games, opening up publishing to interested developers. This became known at the annual Google Game Developers Summit.
What is known
In 2022, the company launched Google Play Games for PC. About two years later, the company announced that it was expanding its catalog with more first-party PC games.
At the moment, you can already install and play some native Windows games through Play Games on PC, this is a selection of partners that Google works with. Among them are games such as Lineage2M, Odin: Valhalla Rising, Genshin Impact and Dragonheir: Silent Gods.
Google wants to expand the number of its own games, opening the publication of games to all interested developers. The company hasn't announced a time frame, but developers can show their interest now.
While you can easily get native PC games on established platforms like Steam or Epic, Google wants to entice you with tighter integration with your Google account. This allows you to use payment methods and Play Store credits, and also gives you access to Play Pass content on PC. This also allows for tighter integration between mobile and desktop platforms.
In addition, Google announced several innovations that are relevant for mobile devices. In particular, Google's AdMob advertising could become a bigger part of gaming with new immersive ads. Google says that “publishers will be able to reimagine the in-game advertising experience and serve ads that fit naturally into gaming environments.” This works across a variety of game genres, with plenty of placement options such as breaks between levels, level progression, and more.
Source: Android Police