Google Has Brought Four Major Updates to Android Games for Your Windows PC.

Google just announced a number of significant improvements to the Google Play gaming experience on Windows PCs, including improvements to how you find and buy games, and the news that more paid games are now available on desktop computers.

While the official client for Google Play apps and games on Windows has been around for several years, recent updates have made it more seamless to use than ever before.

For gamers looking to play Android games on Windows, there are four major changes.

• First, Google is actively expanding the number of premium paid games that are fully optimized for PC. Android games don’t receive this optimization by default and require special development to support PC gaming (including keyboard controls), so the addition of more games that meet these criteria would be very welcome.

• Secondly, there’s a new PC section in the Games tab of the Play Store on mobile devices, so you can see which games will be compatible with different platforms before installing them.

• Thirdly, to use the game on both mobile devices and computers, you only need to purchase it once (which was not always possible before).

• The latest update is game trials. Some games let you start playing for free—once you reach a certain time or progress limit, you’ll be asked if you want to purchase the game (and your progress will be saved if you decide to purchase).

It’s unclear from the announcements how long it will take to implement all of this, but Google states that games like Moonlight Peaks, Sledding Game , and Low-Budget Repairs will be available on PC in the “coming months.” None of these games are currently available in the Play Store app for Android.

There are many advantages to running Android games on your PC—not least the much larger screen and the ability to use keyboard and mouse input—so if you’re interested in giving it a try, here’s how.

How to run Android games on PC

To get started, visit the Google Play Games web portal on your Windows computer. Follow the download instructions, and you’ll be guided through the software installation process and entering your Google account information (for syncing). If you’ve ever played games on your Android device, your profile and stats will be transferred to your computer.

At the end of the installation process, you’ll be shown a list of games you’ve already played that are available for Windows. You can also access this list later by tapping “From your library” on the Google Play Games app’s main page. Most of the games I played on Android appear to be present and display correctly.

Overall, the gameplay is intuitive and simple. I had no problems with most of the games I tried, although the desktop controls can sometimes take a little getting used to: click the keyboard icon to the left of the game window to remap the keys (you can also find some control settings in the games themselves).

You can also tap the display settings button (the slider icon) to change how the game is displayed on the screen, and there’s a volume control button on the left. Games typically retain their default orientation on mobile devices, whether landscape or portrait, but you can adjust the game window size.

The games I tried from my own library synced quite inconsistently—some games carried over progress from the phone, others didn’t—so it seems the primary responsibility for implementing this feature lies with the developers (and Google clearly wants to improve it).

On the main page, click the magnifying glass icon to browse games directly from your desktop. You can filter out games that aren’t optimized for PC, and from what I can see, there’s already a fairly large selection. At the time of writing, I couldn’t find any available trial versions of the games, so it seems they’re still in development.

Android games on PC can be a lot of fun—especially those that work well with a keyboard or gamepad—and I think many gamers should consider getting one, especially with the latest improvements. And when you’re not at your Windows computer, you can continue playing as usual on your phone or tablet.

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