Google+ Games Stream now real time, updates mimic Facebook

Google+ Games just got a little bit better ... or just more like Facebook games. (Zing!) Google+ Product Manager Satyajeet Salgar just announced that the Google+ Games Stream has gone real time. This means that, rather than having to refresh the Stream to see gaming updates from your friends, they'll appear before you as they happen. For speedier reading, keyboard shortcuts work when perusing the Games Stream, too.

Frankly, this sounds an awful lot like the recent Games Ticker addition to the Facebook games Canvas. The second update to Google+ Games is the brand new ability to add your own personalized comments to updates you share with friends. Again, this is something players could in Facebook games for awhile now.

Finally, game notifications will appear in the Google+ Bar lining the top of users' web pages just below the address bar. Bonus: If they're annoying, you can just mute them. (Double Bonus: Google added Kabam's Global Warfare to Google+ Games in addition to Zynga's CityVille earlier this week.)

Granted, these changes are likely welcome by Google+ gamers with open arms, but their Facebook counterparts either have existed for quite some time or were recently added. In defense of Google+, however, Facebook arguably made a lot of its recent changes to the games Canvas in response to its new arch nemesis. And something tell us this slap battle is far from over. Check out Salgar detail the changes below.

[Via The Next Web]

What do you think of the recent changes to Google+ Games? Where do you see the fight between Facebook and Google in the games space going? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.