C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google has announced that it’ll now offer native computer games in the Play Games app for PC.
- These native PC titles will join a wide variety of Android games in the app.
- There’s been no shortage of failed PC game stores, though, as Steam continues to be the preferred storefront for most users.
Google has offered a Play Games app on PC for a few years now, allowing people to run Android games on their computers. The search giant wants to step things up, though, and it’s just announced that it’ll offer native PC games on the app.
The company made the announcement at the 2025 Game Developers Conference:
Google Play Games on PC was launched to help mobile games reach more players on PC. Today, we’re expanding this support to native PC games, enabling more developers to connect with our massive player base on mobile.
“We’re opening up the program for all native PC games — including PC-only games — this year,” the company added.
Google will also offer developer tools and initiatives for native PC titles on Google Play Games. These will enable easier in-app purchases, more advanced security, and up to 15% earnback.
Can Google actually take the fight to Steam?
This is clearly a major move on Google’s part, but we do have our reservations about the platform’s prospects against the juggernaut that is Steam. For one, the Epic Games Store hasn’t made much of a dent in Steam’s popularity despite frequently giving away games and offering timed exclusives.
Meanwhile, former Prime Gaming vice-president Ethan Evans recently opined that Amazon “failed multiple times” to disrupt Valve’s dominant platform. Evans pointed to various Amazon gaming efforts, such as acquiring a smaller PC gaming store, the formation of Prime Gaming and tying it to Twitch, and its Luna game streaming service.
In other words, we’re keen to see how Google Play Games can differ from rival PC game stores. However, history tells us that a drastically different approach might be needed if Google hopes to take the fight to Valve. Then there’s the fact that Google has a reputation for launching services and abandoning them, including the Stadia game streaming service. So I’m personally not holding my breath for this service to challenge Steam, but any competition should be a win for consumers.