Play Store premium gaming listings are really starting to take shape

Is Google doing enough to promote Android as a home for top-tier mobile gaming? Games have always been there as the platform and its hardware matured over the years, but even dedicated PC and console gamers may still not look at their phones as top-tier gaming devices. A few weeks back, we checked out at least one way Google might be thinking to shine more of a spotlight on premium Android games, and today we’ve got some fresh progress to share.

Earlier this month, we spotted Google prepping a new look for app listings in the Play Store, one that appeared exclusive to available-for-purchase Android games. The new UI would feature much more prominent banner graphics, and offer detailed information on the title, but a lot of that wasn’t yet complete. Now with version 53.3.21-34 of the Play Store, we’re able to see more of how this effort is coming together:

We’re still getting those big graphical highlights up top, and here we see them paired with color-matched UI elements for a slick, polished look.

Some of the most recent changes we spotted might raise a few eyebrows — notice, for instance, how in these screens we don’t see an actual rating attached to the games, just expressive labels like Absolute peak, Certified banger, Solid choice, or Controversial. We’ll be curious to see if those stick around, or there’s at least a way to tap through and view proper scores. We also see a row beneath noting details like Play Pass inclusion, availability of IAPs, and the presence of ads.

Further down, we’re now seeing what appears to be the complete app listings, with the ability to pull up a full description, all still inline with this page — if users do want to hop over to Play’s dedicated screen, they can hit the arrow next to “About this game” as you see in the screens above.

Continuing to scroll down, we find this handy at-a-glance “What you get” list as well as that “More features” breakdown. Here’s how it all looks:

Sure, none of this is going to change how Android users view gaming overnight, but it definitely feels like a step in the right direction: giving the platform’s best games some store listings that actually seem serious about what they’re doing.

None of this is yet live in the Play Store, but based on the progress we’re seeing Google make, it feels like this effort is getting close to being ready for its public debut. We’ll keep an eye out for any additional progress, and loop you in on any future finds.