Android games will natively work on Windows 10, 11 PCs: Google

Google is reportedly planning to bring native support for Android’s game library on Windows PCs from next year. According to reports, Google is making a Play Games app for Windows PCs, through which its users can get access to potentially all Android games that there is to play. 

Interestingly, a report by The Verge quotes Google product director of games on Android, Greg Hartrell as saying that the move is not a result of any special partnership between Google and the makers of Windows, Microsoft. In other words, this isn’t a collaborative effort to bring more app interoperability between Android and Windows -- arguably two of the most popular operating systems presently, as well as of all time. 

He further added, “This will be a native Windows app distributed by Google, which will support Windows 10 and up. It will not involve game streaming.” 

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This means that instead of the games being hosted on a cloud server and then streamed through it, Google’s Play Games on Windows will bring native support for the games on Windows 10 and Windows 11 PCs -- and run them locally. This will remove the need for consistent and high-speed internet access, something that large sections of the world still struggle with. 

When Microsoft announced Windows 11, it also announced support for Android apps through the Amazon Appstore -- which in turn could be accessed through the revamped Microsoft Store. The Amazon store works as a sub-system that enables Android apps to run locally on a Windows PC. However, the mechanism means that only select Android app support has come to Windows. 

Google’s move to add Play Games to Windows PCs may further suggest that the Android makers might consider offering a full port of their app ecosystem on a Windows PC. In the long run, such a move may help create cross-device interoperability akin to Apple’s tightly knit ecosystem -- and help Windows PC users get full access to their most used mobile apps.