Google’s latest experiment lets you build games with just an idea

If you enjoy playing games on your phone or PC, you’ve probably had several ideas for the kind of game you’d like to develop if you had the skills and technical know-how. While there’s a certain sense of accomplishment in learning game development, 3D modeling, character rigging, etc., and applying them to build your own game, Google wants to use AI to make the process much, much easier.

Google today launched Playground, a new AI experiment that lets users bring their game ideas to life using natural language prompts. Just describe a game idea, art style, and mechanics, and Playground can turn it into a playable demo.

Users can iterate on their ideas, make changes, and improve or adjust anything in the game. Google Playground also offers several starter prompts that users can remix to create new games, along with guided support to help shape game concepts.

Once created, users can play the game, share it with friends, or publish it to the Playground gallery. They can also play games created by other users, with support for in-game leaderboards and multiplayer gaming for select game genres. Since Playground games are all browser-based games, users can play them on their phones or laptops.

The Playground app connects with your Play Games account, so you can like your favorite games, join leaderboards, and follow creators to stay updated on their latest launches.

Google has also announced that the Playground app will add support for Unity Spark integration in a future update. Once this integration is live, users will be able to use Unity Spark’s advanced mechanics and 3D capabilities to create even more immersive games with natural language prompts.

Playground is currently only available in the US to users aged 18 or older. All eligible users can access the Playground experiment from its website and play games. Creation access is rolling out in tiers based on users’ Google One membership.