Along with things like a unified messaging platform and an upgraded Nexus 7, Google has been rumored to be bringing a gaming service to Android with Android 4.3 similar to iOS’ Game Center or Windows Phone’s XBox Live, and now an updated Google Play Services app that is slowly streaming to Android devices has spilled out a slew of information regarding Google Play Games.
The folks over at Android Police ripped open the APK file of the new Services app and were able to access things like the settings page for Play Games, all but confirming it is real and exists. Play Games is what the app will be called, and the files and code found inside the APK point at features like cloud-based saves for games, multiplayer matchmaking, player invitations, achievements and global leaderboards.
The most needed feature everyone’s been asking for is syncing of saved games, and evidence of its existence has been found in the APK, though it’s currently not working. Actually, nothing but the ability to switch your Google account is working in the Play Games app at this point, but that isn’t surprising considering the service is yet to be made official and will probably take a few more weeks to be activated.
Play Games will be able to invite other gamers and set up matches with them automatically, and of course we’ll be able to do that manually as well, though you’ll need to sign up for a Google+ account for all that. Achievements are also a part of the new service, and so are leaderboards, which are organized by week, all time, or today, and you can also check out your own standing on the boards thanks to “player-centered” scores.
It was only yesterday that I was checking I/O’s sessions list in the companion app and pondering over how Google has many gaming-related sessions planned, and now the leak of Play Games means Google is going to be making gaming an important part of its developer conference this year. There’s even a session by Epic Games, a company that has stayed away from Android in the past while making awesome games like Infinity Blade for iOS, so it looks like gaming on Android is going to take a huge turn this year. Fingers crossed.
Hit the source link to get all the nitty-gritty detail found regarding Play Games (warning: there’s lots of code), and prepare yourself for a rather exciting Google I/O.
Source: Android Police
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