Get started with Google Play Games

Your game must meet the playability requirements before you are able to release it on Google Play Games. Once the game is on the platform you can work towards full certification by adding platform features that delight players such as seamless continuity of play, platform input controls and improved performance. This document outlines the basic playability and certification requirements.

Playability Requirements

You must meet the minimum playable requirements to ship your mobile game to PCs. These requirements are designed to ensure your game can be played on the platform. Once available to PCs you can continue to develop your game to become fully certified on the platform.

Playability Checklist:

  • The game is playable on PCs with a mouse and keyboard. Note that direct support for mouse and keyboard is not required to meet this requirement. Games that are playable in compatibility mode are sufficient.
  • Gameplay cannot be blocked by unsupported permissions.
  • Gameplay cannot be blocked by unsupported Google APIs.
  • Game cannot require unsupported features.
  • The game must support GLES 3.0 (or below) or Vulkan.

Testing for playability

There are several different ways to test your game to determine if it meets the basic playability requirements. The most important thing to test is input handling and that gameplay is not blocked by unsupported features or permissions. The compatibility mode in the platform might be sufficient for a single-click game. If your game is more complex, for example it requires two hands to play, then additional mouse and keyboard support might be required. Here are a couple of things to consider:

  • Use the mouse scroll wheel for scrolling or zooming.
  • Vertical swipes requires more work than horizontal swipes when done with a mouse. Although horizontal swiping translates well using the compatibility mode, consider keyboard shortcuts for vertical swiping.
  • Support multi-touch gestures with keyboard shortcuts.
  • Add keyboard shortcuts for common actions such as an enter press to accept dialogs or an escape press to cancel.

You can use the following methods to test your game's input playability:

  • Chrome OS: Chromebooks offer a native PC-like experience with mouse and keyboard. This provides the closest experience to Google Play Games.
  • Mobile with mouse and keyboard: You can attach a mouse and keyboard to a mobile device to see how well it plays.

Game ABI Architecture

Google Play Games supports games build with ARM or x86 ABI binaries. Including x86 binaries is recommended for improved game performance and expanded device reach. An x86 build of the game is also required for full certification.

ARM binaries

Google has partnered with Intel to enable ARM-based games on Intel-based PCs using Intel Bridge Technology. This means that after your mobile game has met the playability requirements it can be distributed on Google Play Games to Intel-based PCs.

x86 binaries

Providing an x86 version of your mobile game provides performance improvements to your players because it can be executed directly on the native hardware. This also expands your game's distribution to non-Intel PCs.

Providing an x86 version of your game should be your first step in optimizing your game for Google Play Games. It improves your game's performance and expands its distribution reach.

Certification requirements

Certified games are optimized to use the Google Play Games features and capabilities to delight their players. To certify your game you must have met all of the basic playability requirements in addition to the following requirements.

For more information about when these requirements need to be integrated and how they are tested, see the milestone checklist page.

Submit your game

Please express your interest once you have tested that your game meets the playability requirements of Google Play Games.