Google Play Games for PC is now available in the U.S, Canada and 6 more Countries

Ashwin
Nov 4, 2022
Games
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12

Google is expanding support Play Games for PC to 8 more Countries. The platform, which was announced nearly a year ago, was designed to allow Windows users to play Android games on their PC.


Google Play Games for PC is now available in 8 more Countries

In August 2022, the Silicon Valley giant soft-launched the Beta for the service to users in Australia, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. Today, Google Play Games for PC is available for users in the following regions: Canada, Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Singapore, and the U.S.

How to sign up for Google Play Games for PC (beta)

You can sign up to access the open beta for Google Play Games on PC at the official website. If you're in one of the Countries where the service is available, you will get an email with a link to download the desktop client. Install it on your PC, and you will be able to download and play the Android games on your Windows computer. The current catalog has over 40 games including Asphalt 9: Legends, Cookie Run, Horizon Chase to name a few. A user has posted a full list of the available games here.

Google has lowered the system requirements for its emulator. Here is what you will need to run it on your PC.

Google Play Games for PC System Requirements

  • Operating System: Windows 10 v2004
  • Storage: Solid state drive (SSD) with 10 GB of space
  • Memory: 8GB of RAM
  • Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 630 GPU or a Gaming-class GPU like Nvidia GeForce MX450
  • Processor: 4 CPU physical cores
  • Other requirements : Windows admin account, Hardware virtualization must be turned on

That's not too bad considering that when the platform launched earlier this year, it required a much more powerful computer with a Gaming Glass GPU, 20GB of storage space on an SSD, and an octa-core processor. The new system requirements are more sensible given that these are mobile games.

Google Play Games for PC runs on an emulator, I'm yet to test it, so I can't comment on the performance. Windows 11 supports WSA, which means you can install Android apps and games on your PC and play them. Why other with Google Play Games? There are a few factors that you should consider.  According to Google, the graphics are optimized for bigger screens. Unlike mobile games that you can sideload via WSA or the Amazon Appstore, the games on Google Play Games have been designed to support mouse and keyboard input, which should theoretically be easier to use than a version intended to run on touchscreen devices. While WSA requires Windows 11, Google's app supports Windows 10.

The games sync across your devices, through your Google Account. So, you could play a game on your PC, and pick it up where you left off on your phone (or Chrome OS), or vice versa. You can earn Google Play Points when you buy something with Google Play Games, including in-app items and subscriptions. These points can be redeemed via PC or your phone. The desktop client downloads the games, and installs them on your PC, so it doesn't stream them. Interestingly, per the documentation on Google's Dev portal, the games won't have ads on PCs.

Early user reviews aren't very impressive, people say that games have lags, and some games run in a mobile-screen sized window instead of full screen mode. I have also come across reports that say it doesn't work on AMD computers. The app is not available for Linux and macOS yet.

Let's hope Google Play Games on PC fares better than the ill-fated Stadia.

Have you tried Google Play Games on your PC?

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Google Play Games for PC is now available in the U.S, Canada and 6 more Countries
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Google Play Games for PC is now available in 8 more Countries. Here's how you can sign up for the open beta.
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Comments

  1. Apkohi said on February 7, 2023 at 8:14 pm
    Reply

    In August 2023, the Silicon Valley giant soft-launched the Beta for the service to users in Australia, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand

  2. Apkallword said on February 7, 2023 at 8:12 pm
    Reply

    I accepted to the beta and your PC meets the minimum requirements, you can download Google Play Games Beta on your PC.Thanks for sharing it

  3. Luiz H P R said on December 3, 2022 at 5:31 pm
    Reply

    Hm, I really can’t understand google, they don’t bring android apps to ChromeOS Flex, that can be installed in almost any PC, and don’t make the standard ChromeOS compatible and open to install in any PC, BUT, they bring Android Apps to Windows… Why not do the same with Linux (and not limited to only games)? (There’s Anbox anyways, but something official from google may be better…) Linux desktop market share by now are very low, but this could change a lot if they could make android apps to be easily installed and running as good as a native app on linux or if ChromeOS could have a good compatibility like windows and linux based OS…

  4. beergas said on November 5, 2022 at 10:02 pm
    Reply

    Windows 11 medium high end, no issues installing or playing a few. Botsworld only one that grabbed me since have a few of the racing games already. Pretty cool on big monitor since easy to find things in game vs mobile. Bunch of Japanese only games at end of list. Tried one, long d/l, but no English so uninstalled. Several strategy and zombie shooters so far. No lag on cable nor crashes. Has promise once larger selection.

  5. Anonymous said on November 4, 2022 at 11:25 pm
    Reply

    Mobile games on PC, No Thankyou.
    Trust Google Again, No Thankyou.

  6. Anonymous said on November 4, 2022 at 9:35 pm
    Reply

    So, even if you have an HDD drive, you cannot play? That’s bad, especially for old PCs, that have all the requirements, except the SSD?

  7. Tachy said on November 4, 2022 at 2:24 pm
    Reply

    This is nothing new, google is very late to the game.

    I haven’t tried googles version but I bet there’s no root mode? That is one of the top reasons people use the Android emulators.

    With root access you can use cheating programs and you can’t blame people for wanting to cheat the “pay now or wait” standard mobile app model.

  8. Romukas said on November 4, 2022 at 1:37 pm
    Reply

    Don’t really see the appeal to play mobile-fart-apps on PC, where you have a choice of a vastly better games to spend your limited time on

  9. Jek Porkins said on November 4, 2022 at 9:15 am
    Reply

    I want to try this so bad, any chance someone can upload the installer?

    1. Claymore said on November 5, 2022 at 3:36 pm
      Reply

      I used a VPN to get the downloader. Installed fine. But you also need to have a Play account set to a country where it’s supported.

      Eligible accounts

      To use the beta version of Google Play Games on PC, you must:

      – Use a personal Google Account
      – Be 18 years of age or older
      – Some countries or regions may require age verification.
      – Have your Play country set in a supported country or region

      https://support.google.com/googleplaygamesonpc/answer/11358071

      1. Jek Porkins said on November 7, 2022 at 7:43 pm
        Reply

        That’s what I did – I found the installer and created a Google account while using VPN set in USA. Now I’m in.

        Funny thing is, even if I turn off my VPN while the application is running, it automatically closes and I can’t use it at all without the VPN.

    2. Flip3dee said on November 5, 2022 at 12:04 am
      Reply

      It has no use. There aren’t many games at all. There were none of the games I had previously installed on my Android phone, which was what I had anticipated.

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