A revamped version of Google‘s app store Google Play launched Tuesday with features including an integrated gaming platform that will soon incorporate AI assistance, a new curated content “You” tab, and cross-device gameplay amid the tech giant’s Google Play Games on PC offering moves out of the testing phase.
Google’s newly integrated gaming platform will rollout a “Play Games Sidekick” feature in the coming months, which is described as a “helpful in-game overlay available while playing games downloaded from Play.” The tool “curates and organizes relevant gaming info” and offers “direct access” to Google’s AI service, Gemini Live, for “real-time guidance, so you can stay in the game.”
“Last December, Google DeepMind demonstrated how Google is developing AI agents across multiple domains, including gaming,” Google Play Games boss Aurash Mahbod said in a blog post announcing the updates Tuesday. “Since then, Google DeepMind and Google Play have continued to collaborate to make Sidekick more helpful for gamers. With Sidekick, you’ll be able to ask for real-time conversational help from Gemini, instead of leaving the game to seek out tutorials or walkthroughs. Sidekick uses Gemini Live’s screen sharing capabilities to understand your game context and deliver AI-powered, in-game guidance with verbal tips, tricks and support during gameplay.”
Additionally, Google is launching a “Level Up” benefits program for Google Play Games game developers which will offer a “suite of benefits to accelerate business growth,” including “a new space to engage with players, access to content tools in Play Console, and enhanced discovery opportunities through editorial surfaces on the Play Store.”
These updates to Google Play features come at a time of heightened criticism of mobile app stores among the gaming community with accusations of anti-competitive policies on fees and in-app purchases.