Besides Sidekick, Google Play is introducing a slew of updates today across gaming and personalization on Android.
Apps
The Apps tab is getting several new features. An Entertainment space (top tab) in Korea will let you sample “movies, TV shows and short-form dramas” that are optimized for mobile. In the US, you can directly watch clips from short-form dramas, trending TV and movies, and read webcomics.
Starting this month, the top carousel will show “curated, seasonal topics in a new, immersive way.”
We will visually spotlight timely topics tailored to your interests with content from multiple apps, such as the WNBA playoffs, Halloween and Chuseok in Korea.
Guided Search lets you enter natural queries like “find a home” to get apps for buying or selling property. ”Deck-building games” is another example, with AI leveraged to organize relevant apps into categories.
App listings have been updated with large square-ish images. This is a full-bleed carousel, with the Install button moved down.
Gaming + You tab
Google Play now offers a “platform-level gamer profile” across different titles and devices. It starts by letting you generate an AI profile image via prompts. You can track achievements and stats in 1-month, 1-year, or All time intervals.
Gaming streaks register a day when you play a title for at least a few minutes. Google will note your longest streak, with users eligible for Play Points. You can make this profile public, with others able to follow and see your high-level activity.
All this is visible in the new “You” tab that appears at the end of the bottom bar. For non-gamers, this feed will surface content recommendations across books, podcasts, and streaming services.
Meanwhile, Play Games Leagues are global competitions with Play Points as the reward if you top the leaderboard. The first league is for “Subway Surfers” from October 10-23.
Game listings will now show ongoing events, developer updates, and other offers. For installed titles, you’ll see summaries of game progress, achievements, and developer updates. You can now make Community Posts to ask questions about games, like if you’re stuck on a level.
Finally, Google Play Games on PC is now out of beta and entering general availability. The catalog has “over 200,000 titles available across mobile and PC.”
These Google Play gaming updates and the You tab are rolling out starting today.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Source link
