Google is indeed set to unveil its own equivalent to Apple’s Game Center social gaming hub, and according to a leak it will be called Google Play Games.
The rumours of an Android gaming hub appears to have been confirmed by Android Police, which has been digging around in the latest version of Google Play Services. This is the part of the Android OS that deals with the updating and honing of apps.
Version 3.1 of Google Play Services features some very interesting information on Google’s long-rumoured gaming hub.
Google Play Games will enable you to send and receive multiplayer game invitations through Google (of course) as well as, it seems, to text-chat to your opponents. It will also enable you to sync game save files in the cloud, meaning that you won’t lose your game progress when you switch to another device.
Another important part of any mobile gaming hub like Apple’s Game Center or Windows Phone’s Games Hub is achievements. Yep, Google Play Games will enable you to unlock little digital awards when you hit certain in-game milestones. This is evidenced by a couple of little achievement icons found within Google Play Services, one of which is quite explicitly labelled ‘Achievement Unlocked.’
Closely tied to achievements and online matchmaking is leaderboards, and Google Play Games won’t scrimp on this front. Icons have been found relating to this, including a crown and a number of medals. It appears there’ll be the facility for daily, weekly, and all time high score listings. Again, all of this will be heavily integrated with Google .
So, it appears as if the rumours are true, and Android is indeed set to get its own gaming hub service. With Google I/O just days away, it’s looking likely that we’ll see an official announcement on the matter very soon.
If you want a top-range Android phone for gaming, take a look at our updated Best Android Mobile Phones list.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
