Google usually takes the chance at GDC to reveal and celebrate the progress from each of its teams. Due to Coronavirus Google opted for a digital event, Google for Games Developer Summit revealed all the latest information from Android, Google Play, Google Ads, Google Cloud, and Stadia.
Perhaps the biggest announcement from today was the partnership with WINGS, it’s Google’s clear statement of their eagerness to support indie developers, something that has been thought to be false recently. The GDC Relief Fund will count with Google’s support, indie developers will be able to continue developing games with support of companies like Google and AMD.
In times where social distancing is the norm, games are keeping the world united and entertained, Google is making clear to indie developers that their platform is the right one, they affirm that they have the right tools “you need to deliver the best possible game experience”. For this, Google has compiled the list of services that is being offered to game developers:
Build games and reach a wider audience with Android and Google Play
Google is planning to make easier for indie developers to build and optimize games on Android, a set of new tools has been revealed to help the development process, provide greater insights into a game’s performance, and access a wider player base.
Simply scale your global game with Google Cloud Game Servers
Google Cloud team introduced a simplified, convenient way for managing game server clusters, Agones, an open source game server hosting and scaling project built on Kubernetes, was co-founded by Google Cloud and Ubisoft to offer a simpler option. It provides a community-developed alternative to proprietary solutions that also gives developers the freedom to seamlessly host and scale game server clusters across multiple environments—in multiple clouds, on premises, or on local machines.
Build and publish the next generation of games with Stadia
Perhaps the biggest announcement from Games Developer Summit was Stadia Makers. This program is Google’s first step into an expansion of self-publishing for experienced independent game developers.
Since launching in November 2019, developers have launched more than 30 games and 60 game updates on Stadia. We’ve worked with hundreds of you to start your work with us and couldn’t be more thrilled about the 120 games that’ll ship this year alone.
The fact of the matter is that far more studios applied to be a part of our launch than we could work with at the time. Thank you for your ambition, patience, and support that those applications represent. Now that we’re a few months down the road, we’ve improved our tools and built new partnerships that will let us work with more independent
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