Google: Games platform 'is not ready to handle' opening up to creators

There's a reason that Google+ Games has been a slow burn since its launch this summer: It can't handle much more. Speaking exclusively with Gamasutra, Google+ game developer advocate Todd Kerpelman said, "And that is our larger goal, to bring in more developers, and eventually open it up to anybody that wants to develop on Google+. Just right now the system is not ready to handle that."

Google has been quite exclusive with which developers it allows to bring their games onto Google+ Games, working with only the biggest names in casual and social games like Rovio, Zynga, PopCap and Kabam to name a few. (Well, there aren't many more than that, really.) While this is partially due to the fact that Google+ would likely be crushed if the gates were opened to everyone at once, the company is still working out how exactly it wants to handle developers.

"I'm not sure what our plans are - to be completely open versus something like an Apple-style, curated business - that's still to be determined, and we're still working it out," Kerpelman said to Gamasutra. "...The platform has only been out a couple of months, so we've got a way to go."

Gamasutra notes that, if Google opted to open up Google+ Games like it has the Android Market--which is essentially a wild west of games and apps--it would almost certainly have to handle counterfeit games. And that's something, according to Kerpelman, Google simply doesn't want in its online marketplaces anymore. (Who else just screamed hallelujah?)

This news comes just as a Google engineer name-dropped the Google+ Games platform specifically in a rant, implying that the initiative was an afterthought for Google. We're impressed by the platform's pristine presentation (and we're sure game makers love that tiny 5 percent price tag), but Kerpelman's right: Google's got a way to go, and updates like this are certainly steps.

Have you tried playing social games on Google+ yet? What do you think of the experience compared to Facebook and other networks, and what do you think it needs? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.