Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google Play Games profiles are being revamped with new social and customization features.
- Profiles will now be directly accessible in the Play Store, alongside games and stats.
- We managed to enable the new profile features to give you an early look.
Google Play Games profiles are in for a major overhaul, with a new design that makes them more social and customizable than ever. The refreshed layout introduces a follower system, a more public-facing profile, and fresh options for how you present yourself, all accessible from the Play Store. If you’re wondering how that will all look, we can give you a flavor today.
As spotted by The Verge, Google has confirmed on its support pages that the update will begin rolling out globally on September 23, with the EU and UK following on October 1. The new profile is being integrated directly into the Play Store, giving you quicker access without relying solely on the separate Play Games app. We managed to activate the feature in the latest Play Store beta ahead of launch, showing how it all comes together in practice.
Once enabled, the redesigned profile page lets you edit your gamer name and image inside the Play Store. Instead of being limited to the old stock avatars, you’ll now see a range of styles like anime, pixel art, and claymation, which seems to be a step toward the AI avatar generator we spotted earlier this year.
Your Play Games level and Play Points tier are still there, but they’re joined by a new follower and following system that makes the whole setup feel closer to Steam than the barebones Play Games profiles of old.
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Achievements and stats aren’t disappearing, but they’ve been repackaged to sit alongside these new customization and social tools. Combined with the community forum feature we spotted last month, it looks like Google is turning the Play Store into more of a gamer hub than a simple storefront.
Google says the refreshed profile will automatically appear when the rollout begins, with your visibility settings carrying over by default. You’ll also have the option to make the profile public if you want to connect with other players. There’s no guarantee every element we’ve uncovered will appear exactly as shown when the rollout arrives, but it looks fairly likely at this stage.
⚠️ An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
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