New Developer Features in Google Play Services
Article Summary
Greg Hartrell from Google's Play Games team just dropped three major updates that give game developers unprecedented visibility into player behavior and double their cloud storage capacity.
Google announced significant enhancements to Google Play Games in October 2013, addressing developer pain points around analytics, debugging, and data storage. With three out of four Android users playing games, these updates aim to help developers better understand and serve their growing player bases across Android, iOS, and web platforms.
Key Takeaways
- New Developer Console stats show player sign-ins, achievement unlocks, and leaderboard activity
- Automated alerts catch common mistakes like mangled IDs and API throttling issues
- Cloud Save storage doubled from 512KB to 1MB per user starting October 14
Google Play Games now gives developers real-time insights into player behavior and doubles cloud storage to 1MB per user, making it easier to build engaging cross-platform gaming experiences.
About This Article
Game developers couldn't see how players were engaging with their games on Google Play Games. They had no way to track sign-ins, achievement unlocks, or leaderboard scores across their titles.
Google Play Games added statistics directly to the Developer Console. Developers can now monitor player activity, see what percentage of players unlock achievements, and track leaderboard submissions in real-time without needing separate tools.
Developers now have access to player behavior data as it happens. This lets them make better decisions about which game features to improve and measure how well their Google Play Games integration is actually working.