Google Play Games Come to Widows PCs in 2022

• Windows users will soon be able to run Android games on their PCs.
• Google announced that Google Play Games would be coming to Windows PCs next year.
• The tech giant said the app is its own technology and Microsoft had no contribution to it.

It seems that Google is finally preparing its platform for playing Android games on Windows computers, as Google made a surprise announcement at the Game Awards held on Thursday night, which usually isn't filled with Android news. Google has announced that its Play Games app will be coming to Windows PCs as well as laptops tablets in 2022.

There will be no streaming from a cloud server, and games will run locally on your PC, and the new version will be compatible with Windows 10 and higher. Google has not specified how the service will work or which games will be offered but confirmed that Microsoft and others are not involved in developing this app.

For as long as Android has existed, it has been possible to play Android games on Windows using projects like Android x86 and Bluestacks, but now we get a native Windows app.

This announcement comes after Microsoft began testing the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) in October, which allows Android applications to run on Windows 11. Microsoft has built an Android app layer directly into Windows, with downloads available from the Amazon Appstore. Windows 11 is the only OS to support Microsoft's virtualization layer for Android apps.

As Chromebooks already run Android apps and games, moving them to another desktop platform wouldn't be too difficult (aside from the technical challenges). With Google's own software with full Play Services support, fewer game developers may choose to support an Amazon Appstore version, which is required for Microsoft to offer Android compatibility without forcing users to sideload applications.

Google's product director for games on Android and Google Play, Greg Hartrell, told The Verge, "We're excited to extend our player platform even further to let players enjoy their favorite Android games even more."

In contrast, Google does not seem interested in supporting Android apps on Windows, while Microsoft supports both apps and games. Over 2.5 billion people access the Google Play Games every month, including some of the best Android games available. A polished Google Play Games experience on Windows PCs in 2022 is likely a result of feedback from the Google community and developers.