Google Play Games adds an option to make it easier to share devices but not account progress

As Google Play Games ramps up its beta for PC in three countries, with more likely to come down the line, the mobile gaming service looks to be adding new features that seek to make it easier to share devices with your friends and family.

First spotted by @Doraeigaah on Twitter and reported by Android Police, a new option is now appearing in the settings of the Play Games app on Android. Normally, any account you have set here as a default for playing will be automatically signed in when you boot up a title.

There’s also an option to change the default account and to sign out of the previous account to gain a fresh start in all games you have installed on your device, but up until now, you’d have to visit the settings area in order to make any of these changes.

That all changes now with a new “Ask each time” prompt that when selected initially will cause the user to be prompted to choose an account to play with every time they load up a game, even if that game has previously utilized another Google Account on a past startup.

This could likely have been baked in for one of two reasons, so far as I can see. First, Google has ongoing efforts to make devices and data easier to use amongst families and children. Being asked which account you want to sign into after you’re done leveling up your character in Runescape, for example, could make it less of a hassle to let your kiddo boot up Runescape and go skilling or adventuring on their own character.

The other reason this could be, as I said before, is that Google Play Games for PC is headed to laptops and desktops worldwide after the initial beta, and these types of devices are more frequently shared among several people than phones are, and gaming on them would become much easier across households as a result of such an option.

Being that I only use my Play Games account for myself, I don’t think I’ll be turning on the “Ask each time” option, but I’d love to hear from you in the comments section. Do you use one handset for several people, or even with your children to keep them busy, or do they have their own device? Are you looking forward to Play Games for PC and the ability to access many mobile titles on larger displays?