Google announced a number of new features for Google Play listings for games, including AI-powered FAQs, displaying the latest YouTube videos, new immersive ad formats and support for native PC game publishing. The announcements were made at the Google for Games Developer Summit held in San Francisco.
As part of the announcement, the company is releasing new tools related to Play Store listings to attract more users. Developers can display promotions and the latest YouTube videos directly in their listings — they will be shown to users in the Games tab of the Play Store.
Google is also introducing support for AI-powered FAQs on the game’s information page in English. Currently, these features are rolling out to a limited set of developers. The company had been testing AI-generated FAQ answers on Play Store for non-game-related apps for some time.
Play Pass and Play Points
To drive more in-app purchases, Google is also now allowing developers to set discounts for users who have the company’s Play Pass subscription. Additionally, the tech giant will launch the subscription service in Korea later this year.
The company will also now allow game devs to utilize Play Points — points are Play Store’s rewards program and were introduced in 2019 — for exclusive in-app offers. Plus, the Play Points program will expand to Brazil this year. The company noted that the rewards program now has more than 220 million members in over 35 markets.
New ad products
Google still earns the majority of its revenue from ads. That’s why the company is introducing new ad offerings for game developers. One of the most noticeable announcements today is the introduction of immersive in-game ads, which Google claims to blend in the game environment across genres. The company is offering this format through its AdMob platform with placement points such as intermission breaks and level progressions.
The company is also pushing tools for developers to push purchases. First, it’s allowing game makers to see who uninstalled the app through a default uninstaller list. Developers can also now target groups like lapsed payers, users who have never purchased before or players who have not received any push notifications in the last seven days.
Support for PC games
In the last few years, Google has made its Play Games for PC program available in more than 120 countries. The program was introduced to allow users to play Android games on their computers. Now, the company is set to allow publishers to put native PC games on the Play Store. Google said that titles like “Lineage2M,” “Odin: Valhalla Rising,” “Genshin Impact” and “Dragonheir: Silent Gods” are already available, with “Solo Leveling: Arise” slotted to launch later in the year.
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