Code points to a new Android Gaming service on the way from Google
This is one of the more strange stories we've come across today. Not because of the news itself, it sounds pretty awesome that Android could finally be getting a centralized Gaming service similar to Apple's Game Center. The strange thing is that the reveal comes from the APK code of MyGlass, the Google Glass companion app. As you might expect, the MyGlass APK got the usual teardown treatment from the guys over at Android Police (AP), and this time the code revealed something quite unexpected.
According to AP, when a Google app is released, it will pull from a pool of Google Play Service (formerly Google Mobile Services, so the acronym is still GMS) and include only the services needed. So, if an app needs Google+ integration, or Wallet integration, it will pull those files, pack them up, add them to the APK and send it off to the Play Store. Except, for some reason, the MyGlass app included all of the GMS files, rather than just the necessary ones.
This led to the inclusion of files for services that don't even exist, specifically a new Google Games platform for Android which looks like it will include real-time and turn-based multiplayer, invitations, in-game chat, lobbies, leaderboards, and achievements. The name isn't official, but based on the files found, the functionality is all there, and would just need the servers to work.
Obviously, there's no word on a release, but this seems like the perfect product to get the full announcement for developers at Google I/O, which isn't too far off. Maybe it's part of Android Key Lime Pie?
source: Android Police
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