But gamers in North America and Europe will need to keep waiting
Google timed a pretty exciting announcement to the Game Awards last year, as it promised to bring Play Games to PC in beta. Unfortunately, this test started out with some strict requirements, including a limited number of regions and supported games and the need for a dedicated graphics card. Starting today, Google’s made it easier to join in the fun as it expands Play Games for PC to new regions and hardware as an open beta.
In January, the limited beta kicked off in Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan. Now, players from Thailand and Australia can join in on the fun, as it expands to an open beta for all supported markets. We’ve known the program was coming to these countries for some time — the language on the landing page changed last month — but now, it’s finally official. While Google’s program remains in beta, the company has expanded its catalog to include over fifty titles.
This is the world’s longest GIF.
Timed with the region expansion, Google is also drastically reducing the computing power needed to join in on Play Games for PC. Previously, you needed a “gaming-class” GPU paired with 8GB of RAM and 20GB of fast SSD storage. In January, Google promised it would lower these requirements in the future, and it looks like today’s the day.
From now on, integrated GPUs are supported by Play Games, meaning hardware from companies like Nvidia is no longer necessary. Instead, you’ll need a computer running Windows 10 or higher featuring a 4-core CPU with integrated graphics and 10GB of SSD space. Considering these are mobile games running on PC, these new spec requirements make a lot more sense.
If you’re in any of the five supported regions, you can jump in the open beta as soon as you’re ready. It’s unclear when Google plans to expand the program to additional regions — specifically throughout North America and Europe — but clearly, Play Games for PC has a bright future ahead of it.
