Ever wanted a try a mobile game out before having to install or even buy it? Well, Google's got you covered with a whole new search feature that will let you demo a game before you ever go into the Google Play Store.
It's actually a new ad feature announced today with the very un-sexy title of "search trial run ads" announced today as part of GDC 2016. These will let you play a game for up to 10 minutes, which is generally plenty of time to let you decide if you want it or not.
Available starting in the coming weeks, you simply type in the title of the game through Google search on your smartphone, and a "try now" button should appear under the listing.
Clicking the button should launch the game without actually requiring you to download it, though you will need to be on a Wi-Fi to play the 10-minute demo.
More for mobile gaming
The new ad feature is part of Google's large push for Android developers, with the introduction of a new section in the Play Store called "indie corner" that will highlight some of the best indie games available. Google will update and curate the list of titles regularly.
Google also announced a new API that will let devs include a video recording and live streaming function to any game as well.
The API, which should be available to devs in a few months' time and make YouTube a more formidable opponent to Twitch, at least when it comes to mobile games, will allow people to more easily broadcast or upload their videos to YouTube in just a "few simple steps," Google says. We shall see.
