Report: Google plans 'Game Certified Device' standard for Android

Google is reportedly rolling out a certification program that aims to somewhat standardize the hardware powering Android devices, specifically those that aim to market themselves as game-centric mobile phones.

The certification program hasn’t been formally announced, but an internal Google document obtained by XDA Developers offers details on the technical requirements needed for a device to receive Game Device Certification in the future.

It’s a move that the document notes is aimed at making life easier for game developers seeking to launch on mobile, and one that should offset some of the unpredictability that comes with developing games for the varying devices that run Google’s Android OS.

According to the document, a Google Game Certified Device should, in theory, make it “so game developers don’t face unexpected throttling, lost CPU cores, or other odd system behaviors”

To do so, the document decrees that devices seeking certification must “provide a modern, up-to-date high-performance GPU and display APIs, and enable reasonable frame introspection,” in addition to a handful of other requirements outlined in XDA’s writeup. That version of the document is dated September 3, so there’s the chance those requirements could shift if and when Google announces the program to the wider development community as well.