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[Update: Rolled out] Google revamps Play Games with reorganized ‘Home’ feed, bottom bar

Over the past year, Play Games has gained a dark theme and Material Theme settings. Google is now rolling out an organization revamp that sees Play Games gain dedicated tabs for key parts of the Android app and a “Home” feed.

Update: Over three months after the Play Games revamp first entered testing, it’s now widely available with version 2019.10.13833 from Google Play.


This new design starts by consolidating the primary sections of the app to the bottom bar. Your “Profile” is now the app’s fourth tab, and not in the top-right corner of the app bar.

The “My Games” tab has been split into “Home” and “Library,” with a carousel of full-screen icons no longer taking up the app’s main view. It’s replaced by a feed that offers cards for “Instant favorite,” “Continued playing,” and other content, like “Top 3 must plays.”

In fact, “Home” replaces the old “Arcade” tab in this Play Games revamp. Reminiscent of Google Discover, it lets you browse through built-in games and other apps. You’re more likely to interact and browse if this feed is now the primary section you open to.

Meanwhile, “Library” — previously a swipe up at the very bottom of My Games — is now its own tab. Immediate access to a dense list of apps is better than the previous carousel.

The “Hub” section featuring game news remains unchanged, along with “Profile.” There is a small visual tweak where the icon and “Games” title is no longer in the app bar of most screens. Other parts, including game pages and preferences, have stayed the same through this navigation reorganization.

Our tipster received the Google Play Games revamp with version 2019.07.11661, which began rolling out yesterday. That update is not yet widely available, while sideloading does not automatically deliver the new design. If this is more than an A/B test, a server-side component is required before it publicly launches.

Thanks, Encestral Z.

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Avatar for Abner Li Abner Li

Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.com

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