The seemingly Steam-like overhaul arrives on September 23.<\/b>
\nGoogle is readying an update for its Play Games app that will introduce stats and milestones to your all-new profile. From September 23 (October 1 in the EU and UK), other players will be able to see which games you\u2019ve played and for how long, as well as any achievements you\u2019ve unlocked. Google says there will also be new „social features“, but it\u2019s not yet clear what they\u2019ll be.
It sounds a lot like Google\u2019s take on Steam profiles (similar features are also available on PlayStation and Xbox) and the company says it will be collecting usage data for games you\u2019ve installed or played previously, adding that it may pass on information about your in-game activity to developers. You can also choose to import your past activity on a one-time basis, which Google pulls from your account history and then uses to populate your Play Games profile statistics from the start. You\u2019re already able to decide whether data related to gaming is collected through Activity Controls in your account settings.
It\u2019s up to you whether people can see your profile or not. If you make it public, other people can follow you and snoop on your gaming activity, but you can also choose to hide it if you don\u2019t want anyone to know how many hours you\u2019ve spent playing Angry Birds. You\u2019re also free to delete your Play Games profile entirely, along with all of the data it\u2019s using.
Google\u2019s overhauled gaming profiles will arrive around the same time as Apple\u2019s annual software updates for all of its devices, which will introduce a new dedicated gaming app, simply called Games. Pre-installed on all updated Mac, iPhone and iPad devices, it effectively replaces Game Center and will behave more like a modern gaming hub. Games will feature leaderboards, matchmaking services, recommendations and news regarding new titles. And like Google\u2019s offering, you\u2019ll be able to see what your friends are playing.<\/p>\n