Google today revealed a new feature for Android game creators that would cut the time between starting a download in the Google Play store and the game running by approximately two times — at least on Android 12 devices — during its Game Developer Summit. This new feature “play as you download,” sums it up. Players can begin playing in Android 12 before all the game’s assets finish downloading.
Modern games are, on average, the largest applications you’ll ever download. With this new feature, Google claims that starting a game that is 400MB or more will take half the time. If you’re a console gamer, you’ll recognize this notion because Sony does pretty much the same thing with PlayStation games.
This isn’t the first time Google has tried to make games load faster. Google already has a similar function called “Google Play Instant,” which allows gamers to launch a game from the Play Store right away. However, the goal is to eliminate the installation procedure, allowing potential gamers to check out a new game straight immediately.
The new “play as you download” functionality, like Play Instant, is enabled by Google’s Android App Bundle format. It is mostly replacing the old APK standard.