Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Copy link × Get shareable link VP & GM, Google Play + Developer Ecosystem It’s been an action-packed few months at Google Play! One highlight for my team was meeting with our global developer community face-to-face at our I/O Connect events around the world. I/O Connect has become a key moment for sharing the features we’re building to delight our users and developers in response to feedback. I really enjoyed connecting with developers in-person in Bengaluru, India. For me, it’s always inspiring to hear directly from developers about their successes and challenges—conversations that are invaluable and help us shape the future of our platform. Speaking of the future, at our annual Play Press Event in September, we shared how Play is putting users at the center of an experience uniquely tailored to their interests. Highlights include a more content-forward Apps tab, a gamer profile that helps players track their stats and achievements across games, and Play Games Leagues to compete for rewards. All these updates come together in one convenient place, the new You tab, a user’s homebase for all things Play. Ready to see what this all looks like? Watch the video below, then keep reading for all the deep dives and latest product announcements. Link to Youtube Video (visible only when JS is disabled) Continuing to make Play the best destination for games Whether they prefer casual mobile games or immersive multiplayer PC titles, Play is there for gamers from discovery to gameplay and beyond. Gamer profile: Centralizing stats and achievements across games Our new platform-level gamer profile lets gamers easily track stats across games and devices. With new gaming streaks and achievements, players can keep tabs on where they stand overall, not just in a specific game. Plus, they can customize their profile with a Gen AI Avatar to express their unique gaming identity. You tab: A new personalized home base on Play The You tab is a curated space for the content that users care about most—from rewards and subscriptions to recommendations and app updates. For gamers, the new gamer profile content is central, giving them a hub to engage with their stats and achievements. Beyond gaming, the You tab combines relevant content across different interests. Users can easily discover what's new, such as tailored audiobook recommendations, and will soon be able to seamlessly pick up where they left off on a novel or podcast. Google Play Points: More rewards and new member experiences As one of the world's largest rewards programs, Google Play Points continues to elevate the value for our members by unlocking exclusive, money-can't-buy experiences. More exclusive merchandise and VIP experiences: This summer, we launched Four Days of Fantastic Rewards highlighting Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps and MONOPOLY GO! on Google Play and at San Diego Comic-Con. Play Points members got access to exclusive in-game items and Marvel collectibles while Comic Con attendees experienced an interactive "Rewards Lab" inspired by the Fantastic Four. Play Points program updates in the UK: We re-introduced Google Play Points in the UK , offering new ways for users to redeem points for must-have merchandise and collectibles from Android, YouTube, Chrome, and top developers. New Play Points experiences in Korea: We launched our third edition of Code Quest , an annual, eagerly-anticipated event for top Play users in Korea. This year’s promotion featured Honkai: Star Rail and included gamified quests for users to unlock exclusive Google Play Points promotions and perks. Google Play Games on PC: Out of beta and new titles added Google Play Games on PC has officially graduated out of beta to general availability, solidifying our commitment to multi-platform play and creating greater continuity across mobile and PC. Our catalog includes over 200,000 titles available across mobile and PC, so no matter how users play, there’s a game for them. We recently added Amazing Seasun Games’ Mecha Break (a PC-native title) and Gravity Game Vision’s Ragnarok Origin. Google Play Games Level Up program: A new way for game developers to grow on Play We’ve consolidated our best tools and opportunities into the Google Play Games Level Up program . This new program makes it simpler for top game developers to access powerful resources and bring best-in-class experiences to players. Titles that meet the core user experience guidelines will unlock a suite of benefits, including the brand new user engagement space, the You tab, and enhanced discovery opportunities on the Play Store. Link to Youtube Video (visible only when JS is disabled) Helping people discover even more content they’ll love We launched new tools and features to connect people with their favorite apps and games while helping developers reach their ideal audiences. Apps Home updates: Driving discovery with more content and personalization Over the last year, we’ve been revamping Apps Home with more personalized and visually engaging content. We're keeping the momentum going with even more updates that make finding great content simpler than ever. More curated entertainment spaces: We're making it easier for more people to find the content they love on Google Play by expanding our successful curated spaces. Building on the excitement of the Cricket Hub in India and Comics space in Japan , we launched a new entertainment space for users in Korea. It’s a one-stop shop for movies, TV shows, and short-form dramas optimized for mobile viewing. Users in the United States can now also easily check out webcomics, short-form dramas, and trending TV and movies right from the Apps Home tab . New ways to discover content: Starting in September, users around the world began to see curated, seasonal topics in a new, immersive way at the top of the Apps Home. We'll continue to visually spotlight timely topics tailored to users’ interests with content from multiple apps, such as the WNBA playoffs, Halloween, and Chuseok in Korea. Collections: Expanding content access to new markets We recently expanded the Collections feature to new markets, including Brazil, India, Japan, Germany, Spain, Italy, and France. Collections is a full-screen immersive space designed to help users quickly find the content they care about most. Users can quickly continue shopping, jump back into a show, or discover something new by jumping into the Collections experience right from the home screen. Collections is powered by the Engage SDK , a tool that simplifies the process of bringing developer content directly to users, and also surfaces content on the new You tab and refreshed Apps Home. Search improvements: Giving users more ways to find the right app We're making it easier for users to find the perfect app on Play. With Guided Search, users can simply type in their goal (like "find a home" or "deck-building games") instead of just keywords. With AI in Play, we organize relevant apps into categories, making discovery simpler and more intuitive. We also enhanced our search results and now show developer videos embedded directly in results. Where to Watch improvements: Surfacing more sports-related content In September, we expanded our Where to Watch feature by allowing sports fans to search across apps for sports-related content, like the WNBA playoffs, with video recaps and info on where to watch the next game. And, users can also find results for some of the biggest match-ups in major US and European sport leagues like MLB, NFL, and La Liga. Updates to app detail pages: Providing users with more helpful information We continue to provide users with more content on app detail pages to help them make informed decisions and get the most out of Play. More curated video content: We launched a new feature on app detail pages to show developer-curated videos including tutorials, feature announcements, and tips.

Open When Ready notification: Users can opt-in to get a countdown notification for when their new app is ready to use. Battery drain warning: To address user concerns about all-day wearable battery life, we launched a new battery drain warning on wearable app details pages. We also alert developers, offering them the opportunity to remedy potential issues causing battery drain. Device-specific ratings: We’ve made it easier for users on large screens and foldables to see app quality for their device by launching specific star ratings for different device types. Play Console updates: Helping developers better understand and grow their audiences Google Play Console continues to evolve with new features to help developers understand how users are engaging with their apps and expand to new audiences and markets. App content translations with Gemini: Developers can now automatically translate their store listings and app strings into selected languages directly within Play Console. The feature continuously translates new app versions for efficient localization. Developers remain in full control, with options to preview translations, make edits, or disable the service entirely. Chart descriptions with Gemini: Developers can now get contextual, natural language summaries of their metric trends on the Statistics page in Play Console. This feature makes Play’s data more accessible to developers, including but not limited to those who use screen readers. “Grow” overview page: This new objective-based overview page in Console provides a unified destination for developers to understand how their app and its specific features are performing as well as opportunities to improve performance. This page also provides a definitive set of metrics that span reach, acquisition, engagement, and retention. YouTube performance dashboard: Developers can now view video performance metrics, giving them a clear view of how their video content drives installs and engagement from the Play Store. This dashboard can be found in the “Store presence” section of the “Grow” page. Driving global growth with secure, frictionless payments Google Play Commerce helps buyers make seamless, secure purchases and unlocks international revenue growth for apps and games businesses. New Google Play Billing features: Introducing new capabilities for one-time products Developers now have more ways to attract buyers with new purchase offers and more flexible pricing for one-time products. This new capability allows developers to add rentals to the suite of purchase models they can offer users, and soon will include pre-orders as well. We’ve also introduced a new taxonomy for defining and managing one-time products, building on our subscription model and allowing developers to manage their product catalog in a more organized and efficient way. This allows developers to offer the same item in multiple ways, like selling a product in one country and renting it in another, which helps Play better surface relevant offerings. Expanded local payment options: Giving users more ways to pay Google Play offers over 300 local payment methods across 65+ markets, with new payment methods added regularly. Our payment library continues to grow with recent additions including K PLUS (Kbank) in Thailand, PSE bank payments in Colombia, and Paysafecard in Romania. Making payments easier: New ways to update payment methods Some Play users make purchases with cash-based forms of payment, completing their purchase at a convenience store, kiosk, or bank. This multi-step process may leave their purchase pending. Now, users can easily change their payment method for a pending purchase, allowing them to complete the transaction immediately. Additionally, we’re making subscription renewals more reliable by expanding the markets where users can add a backup payment method to include Australia, Canada, and Indonesia. If the automatic payment method fails on a user’s primary card, we seamlessly charge their backup method to ensure a subscription stays active. Boosting trust with safer, high-quality experiences Google Play enables high-quality experiences by prioritizing secure and seamless interactions, helpful developer tools, and comprehensive platform protections. Policy insights in Android Studio: Helping developers get early policy guidance The Play Policy Insights feature is now available to everyone in Android Studio, a popular tool many developers use to build apps. It helps developers build more compliant apps by showing in-context guidance like policy summaries and best practices whenever it detects code related to a Google Play policy. With the help of this tool, developers can catch and fix potential violations early, and get a smoother review experience. Play Integrity API updates: Stronger threat detection, simpler integration To help developers protect their apps and games from abuse and attacks, Google Play offers a resilient threat detection service, Play Integrity API. We’re continuing to improve the Play Integrity API , making it easier to integrate, more resilient against sophisticated attacks, and better at recovering users who encounter errors with new Play in-app remediation prompts. Championing our global developer community Our global developer community is the heart of Play. We're constantly looking for ways to offer the resources they need to grow their businesses and to celebrate their successes. New developer training program in India: Google Play x Unity In partnership with the governments of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Game Developer’s Association India (GDAI), we announced a new 6-month program that will provide participants with Unity training, certification exams, and Google-led webinars focused on AI tools and networking meetups. #WeArePlay: Shining a spotlight on the global developer community One of our latest #WeArePlay films features Hugo, founder of Maliyo Games in Lagos, Nigeria. Hugo is on a mission to put African stories and talent on the global gaming map by creating vibrant games inspired by local life and culture. He is committed to shifting the continent from “net consumers” to “net creators.” To nurture this ecosystem, Hugo launched GameUp Africa , a free, pan-African training program that finds and develops local talent. Today, an incredible 90% of the Maliyo Games team came through the program! Link to Youtube Video (visible only when JS is disabled) And that concludes this edition of The Latest from Google Play! We'll also soon be announcing and celebrating the "Best of 2025,” highlighting the year's most outstanding apps, games, and books across various categories. Stay tuned for even more updates as we close out 2025. Until next time, Sam Bright VP & GM, Google Play + Developer Ecosystem In this quarterly report Continuing to make Play the best destination for games Helping people discover even more content they’ll love Driving global growth with secure, frictionless payments Boosting trust with safer, high-quality experiences Championing our global developer community Read previous quarterly report