Google Play Games quietly rolls out Nearby Players feature

Playing Google Play Games could be more fun and exciting if you see nearby players enjoying the same game as you. The Google Play Services app was recently updated to include a new street view API, some more bug fixes, and updates to activity recognition, Instant Buy APIs, and Play Games services. Some users have noted that the “Nearby Players” feature is also available and has been enabled on their phones.

It seems the new feature is rolling out randomly in the US, Italy, and Mexico, at least, for now. With the Nearby Players feature, anyone can see the games being played by other users within a location or within the same WiFi and Bluetooth network. Searching for other players on the same game is possible once the service is enabled. You can also choose to stay private if you don’t want others seeing your name and knowing you are playing the game.

Nearby Players can alert you if someone within your location is playing the same game from the Play Store. You could also limit to your Google+ circles only instead of the whole Android population. With this feature, you can play multiplayer games and meet other people via the online matchmaking system.

The feature takes advantage of your device’s GPS, microphone, Bluetooth, or WiFi network. It will automatically search for other gamers that are part of the same network but only those that have gone public. To enable this feature, make sure you download the updated Google Play Services app from the Google Play Store first. Not all devices will have the Nearby Players feature at once but it will be available for everyone soon.

VIA: Android Police