Google is introducing 'play as you download' games with Android 12

Google is rolling out 'play as you download' games with Android 12 so users can start playing almost twice as fast as before.

The company said the feature will allow people to "get into gameplay in seconds while game assets are downloaded in the background."

Google claims 'play as you download' titles will help developers achieve go-to-market success, and said it is already "seeing games being ready to open at least 2 times faster" than before. It added that getting people into games doubly fast would improve the overall user experience for players. 

As detailed by Android Games product manager Scott Carbon-Ogden at the Google for Games Developer Summit, the company is also working to reduce download times using a new feature called 'Play Asset Delivery' that uses Texture Compression Format Targeting to automatically figure out what modern compression formats can be used to reduce file sizes. 

A new Play Integrity API is also being introduced to help Android developers combat abuse and cheating, while the addition of app campaigns for pre-registration should allow creators to build excitement for their projects during open testing. 

There were a bunch of other announcements during the Developer Summit, including the unveiling of a new Android Game Development Kit (AGDK) that comprises a full range of tools and libraries designed to help developers create, optimize, and deliver Android games. 

You can find a full breakdown of the above news and more over on the Android Developers Blog.