Get ready for the next generation of gameplay powered by Play Games Services

Posted by Chris Wilk – Group Product Manager, Games on Google Play To captivate players and grow your game, you need tools that enhance discovery and retention. Play Games Services (PGS) is your key to unlocking a suite of services that connect you with over 2 billion monthly active players. PGS empowers you to drive engagement through features like achievements and increase retention with promotions tailored to each gameplay progress .

These tools are designed to help you deliver relevant and compelling content that keeps players coming back. We are continuously evolving gaming on Play, and this year, we're introducing more PGS-powered experiences to give you deeper player insights and greater visibility in the Play Store. To access these latest advancements and ensure continued functionality, you must migrate from PGS v1 to PGS v2 by May 2026.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s new: Drive discovery and engagement by rewarding gameplay progress We’re fundamentally transforming how achievements work in the Play Store, making them a key driver for a great gaming experience. Now deeply embedded across the store, achievements are easily discoverable via search filters and game detail pages, and further drive engagement when offered with Play Points. At a minimum, you should have at least 15 achievements spread across the lifetime of the game, in the format of incremental achievements to show progress.

Games that enable players to earn at least 5 achievements in the first 2 hours of gameplay are most successful in driving deeper engagement * . The most engaging titles offer 40 or more achievements with diverse types of goals including leveling up characters, game progression, hidden surprises, or even failed attempts. To help you get the most out of achievements, we’ve made it easier to create achievements with bulk configuration in Play Console .

For eligible titles * , Play activates quests to reward players for completing achievements - for example with Play Points. Supercell activated quests for Hay Day , leading to an average 177% uplift in installs * . You can tailor your quests to achieve specific campaign objectives, whether it's attracting high-value players or driving spend through repeated engagement, all while making it easy to jump back into your game.

Hay Day boosted new installs with achievement-based quests Increase retention with tailored promotions Promotional content is a vital tool for you to highlight new events, major content updates, and exciting offers within your game. It turns Play into a direct marketing channel to re-engage with your players. We've enhanced audience targeting capabilities so you can tailor your content to reach and convert the most relevant players.