Google Android 12 announces ‘play as you download’ before the download is done

Google has announced that with Android 12, people will be able to play the game even before they finish downloading it at speed up by almost two times, from downloading the game on the Play store to launching it on your device.

Called ‘play as you download’, the new feature will give more power to Android game developers.

At its ‘Google for Games Developer Summit’ that kicked off on Monday, the company said it would take just half the time to jump into a game that is 400MB or more. The new feature is powered by Google’s Android App Bundle format.

A recent Google Play study of mobile gamers shows that 45 percent of existing players have discovered more games to play in the past year than the year before – and developers need the right tools and insights to capture this opportunity and drive sustainable growth.

Google has also announced new solutions to help game developers unlock more growth and navigate privacy changes effectively.

Last year, the company introduced App campaigns for engagement (ACe) in Google Ads to help developers re-engage existing players.

“Soon, you’ll be able to use target return on ad spend (tROAS) bidding for ACe campaigns on Android. You can adjust bids dynamically based on the value each returning player is likely to create when they take in-game actions,” the company said.

Another Google study shows that 70 percent of existing players are playing longer sessions compared to before the pandemic.

“AdMob monetization solutions can help you leverage the momentum to earn more from your games. We’re introducing new changes to Open Bidding that will give you more control and transparency on how you want to work with access to 200+ real-time bidders,” Google informed.

Open Bidding is now generally available to all app developers.

Google said that the latest enhancements to the Privacy and messaging tab in AdMob can help developers easily understand regulations that may impact their business, and discover tools to help with their compliance strategy.