Posted by Chris Wilk – Group Product Supervisor, Video games on Google Play
To captivate gamers and develop your recreation, you want instruments that improve discovery and retention. Play Video games Providers (PGS) is your key to unlocking a collection of companies that join you with over 2 billion month-to-month lively gamers. PGS empowers you to drive engagement by means of options like achievements and enhance retention with promotions tailor-made to every gameplay progress. These instruments are designed that will help you ship related and compelling content material that retains gamers coming again.
We’re constantly evolving gaming on Play, and this yr, we’re introducing extra PGS-powered experiences to offer you deeper participant insights and larger visibility within the Play Retailer. To entry these newest developments and guarantee continued performance, it’s essential to migrate from PGS v1 to PGS v2 by Could 2026. Let’s take a more in-depth have a look at what’s new:
Drive discovery and engagement by rewarding gameplay progress
We’re basically reworking how achievements work within the Play Retailer, making them a key driver for an excellent gaming expertise. Now deeply embedded throughout the shop, achievements are simply discoverable by way of search filters and recreation element pages, and additional drive engagement when supplied with Play Factors.
At a minimal, it’s best to have a minimum of 15 achievements unfold throughout the lifetime of the sport, within the format of incremental achievements to indicate progress. Video games that allow gamers to earn a minimum of 5 achievements within the first 2 hours of gameplay are most profitable in driving deeper engagement*.
Probably the most partaking titles provide 40 or extra achievements with various sorts of targets together with leveling up characters, recreation development, hidden surprises, and even failed makes an attempt. That can assist you get essentially the most out of achievements, we’ve made it simpler to create achievements with bulk configuration in Play Console.
For eligible titles*, Play prompts quests to reward gamers for finishing achievements – for instance with Play Factors. Supercell activated quests for Hay Day, resulting in a median 177% uplift in installs*. You may tailor your quests to attain particular marketing campaign aims, whether or not it is attracting high-value gamers or driving spend by means of repeated engagement, all whereas making it straightforward to leap again into your recreation.
Enhance retention with tailor-made promotions
Promotional content material is an important device so that you can spotlight new occasions, main content material updates, and thrilling provides inside your recreation. It turns Play right into a direct advertising and marketing channel to re-engage along with your gamers. We have enhanced viewers concentrating on capabilities so you possibly can tailor your content material to achieve and convert essentially the most related gamers.
By integrating PGS, you should utilize the Play Grouping API to create customized segments primarily based on gameplay context*. Utilizing this function, Kabam launched promotional content material to customized audiences for Marvel Contest of Champions, leading to a 4x enhance in lapsed person engagement*.
Begin implementing PGS options in the present day
PGS is designed to make the sign-in expertise extra seamless for gamers, mechanically syncing their progress and identification throughout Android gadgets. With a single faucet, they will decide up the place they left off or begin a brand new recreation from any display. Whether or not you employ your personal sign-in answer, companies from third events, or a mixture of each, we have made it simpler to combine Play Video games Providers with the Recall API.
To make sure a constant sign-in expertise for all gamers, we’re phasing out PGS v1.
All video games presently utilizing PGS v1 should migrate to PGS v2 by Could 2026. After this date, you’ll now not have the ability to publish or replace video games that use the v1 SDK.
Beneath you may discover the timeline to plan your migration:
Migration information |
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| Could 2025 | As introduced at I/O, new apps utilizing PGS v1 can now not be printed. Whereas present apps can launch updates with v1 and the APIs are nonetheless purposeful, you’ll have to migrate by Could 2026, and APIs can be absolutely shut down in 2028. |
| Could 2026 |
APIs are nonetheless purposeful for customers, however are now not included within the SDK. New app variations compiled with the latest SDK would fail within the construct course of in case your code nonetheless makes use of the eliminated APIs. In case your app nonetheless depends on any of those APIs, it’s best to migrate to PGS v2 as quickly as potential. |
| Q3 2028 | APIs are now not purposeful and can fail when a request is distributed by an app. |
Wanting forward, extra alternatives powered by PGS
Coming quickly, gamers will have the ability to generate distinctive, AI-powered avatars inside their profiles – creating enjoyable, various representations of their gaming selves. With PGS integration, builders can enable gamers to hold over their avatar inside the recreation. This permits gamers to showcase their gaming identification throughout your entire gameplay expertise, creating a good stronger motivation to re-engage along with your recreation.
PGS is the foundational device for maximizing what you are promoting development on Play, enabling you to tailor your content material for every participant and entry the newest gameplay improvements on the platform. Keep tuned for extra PGS options coming this yr to supply a good richer participant expertise.
* To be eligible, the title should take part in Play Factors, combine Play Video games Providers v2, and have achievements configured in Play Console.
* Knowledge supply from accomplice. Common incremental installs over a 14-day interval.
* Knowledge supply from accomplice.
