Droid centric site, Android Police dropped a major leak this past weekend. They’d gotten their hands on an .apk of a completely revamped “Google Play Games” that Google was keeping close to the vest in advance of its reveal at I/O. While the leak might steal a little of Google’s thunder for the I/O Games presentation, the new game center app looks great and has a lot of console quality features. The Droid Cops dug into the code of the app and uncovered some pretty exciting stuff.
Among other exciting features, bits of the code hinted at some long requested features such as:
Synced Save Games
This would be huge if it comes through on this release (sometimes things can be in the code but not yet “ready for prime time”, so we’ll see). This feature is especially great for folks who change phones often, or victims of theft (or, y’know, dropping their phone in the toilet for the third time this year…..)
Matchmaking and Friend Invites
This is a prominent feature of Xbox Live, PS Network, and Steam. Matchmaking and friend lists help make it quick and easy to get into online multiplayer, and would go a long way to delivering console or PC level gaming to Android devices.
Achievements
Unlocking achievements is a satisfying aspect of modern console gaming. They’re sort of like a digital “keep up the good work, buddy!” when you’re playing through an epic quest or relentless battle. Achievements would be nice in Android games, and lead into the next exciting thing hinted at in the leak:
Leaderboards
Like its console and PC counterparts, the code of “Google Play Games” hints at online scoring and leaderboards. A this will definitely encourage more online play and competition.
We’ll be keeping you posted on Google’s I/O presentation. Hopefully all these things (and more!!) will be in release version of Google Play Games!
[Via Android Police]