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Well, this was a pleasant surprise to wake up to. As an avid gamer, I’m always looking forward to finding new ways to discover what I can play on my Chromebook, as well as my phone and other dedicated handhelds. Historically, Chromebooks have not been for gaming, but with the introduction of Android apps, cloud gaming, and even Steam via the Linux container, that’s all changing quite a bit.
Today, @NicoChromebook on Twitter stumbled upon a new tool in the Chromebook “Discover” app that’s dedicated to “Apps and Games”. This is currently on ChromeOS Canary, so don’t expect to see it just yet. Still, it’s super slick and Google has found a bunch of ways to put games and goals in those games right in front of your face seemingly in an effort to encourage users to use their laptops for more than just Google Docs.
The Discover app’s home screen prominently features the “Apps and games for your Chromebook” banner. Upon visiting it in the left-hand sidebar, you’ll see spotlight apps for creativity like LumaFusion, art and design, music, and more. However, as you scroll down, you’ll notice a section for “Chromebook gaming 101” and “A new way to play top mobile games.”
The former shows off the new cloud game search in the launcher with a link to the Games tab of the Play Store, while the latter displays highly specific titles and descriptions for games like Dead Cells, Don’t Starve, DOOM, and more. Each game’s description details what’s fun about the game and provides a link to download it on Google Play.
At this time, since this feature is in early development, every app says “Pokedex” and is a PWA, but it’s likely just for testing to fill out the sections. Once this fully launches, it will be corrected and may become a fun place to browse every so often.
This new addition is likely an improvement or further development of the Kids section the ChromeOS development team added a while back, as it features apps and games for education and coding as well as for fun. This update signals Google’s commitment to making Chromebooks more versatile and enjoyable for users of all ages and interests.
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