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Google is ending support for real-time and turn-based multiplayer APIs in Play Games Services
Google Play Games Services will end support for real-time and turn-based multiplayer APIs, forcing developers to upgrade to Firebase or Google Cloud.
Mobile game development can be quite lucrative, but for many indie developers, it's just something they do for fun. For those developers, it's not worth maintaining a game if the services they rely on are no longer free. That's why some developers are upset that Google is ending support for the Play Games Services APIs used to make real-time and turn-based multiplayer games.
Google Play Games tests Hub page with news about installed & trending games
Google Play Games is testing a new "Hub" page which shows you news about installed games as well as games trending on the Google Play Store.
Mobile gaming is a lucrative market for developers to invest in, but it's also pretty difficult to break into due to the immense competition. Games like Super Mario Run, Pokémon Go, PUBG Mobile, and the upcoming Fortnite Mobile are some of the major games from the biggest players on the Google Play Store. There are so many games available on Android that it's hard to stay up to date with the latest news for not only the games you already play but also games you haven't played yet. That's where Google Play Games new "Hub" page will come in handy.
A while back, Google announced some new features and services that enabled game developers to engage with the people who played their mobile games. This service was added to the Google Play Games platform and was known as Google Play Games Services. A number of these features and services have been popular among the developer community, but some of them have not been so popular and that is why Google has decided to announce they'll be discontinuing a few of them.