After months of preparation in buying and investing in online video game companies, Google will be launching its very own games platform for its Chrome Internet browser.
And we’re not just talking about a couple of simplistic Tetris or Arkanoid games here. You’ll be able to play top-notch titles like Lego Star Wars and Quake II, and one of the most popular new casual games, Plants vs Zombies.
It’s all part of the Chrome app store, Google’s unique digital storefront set to launch in October where users will be able to access all kinds of content powered directly by their browser.
Google has been showing a widening interest in gaming ever since earlier this year when it turned the main Google.com home page into a playable version of Pac-Man, in honor of the classic arcade game’s 30th birthday.
Since then, it has reportedly dumped money into the leading social gaming company Zynga and it acquired a startup game developer called Slide.
It’s a brand new market for Google, and one that could catapult it to the next level. Video games are an $18 billion industry in the US alone, and if the online search giant can begin to make inroads there, it could lead to big things.
For now, relegating its platform to Chrome, the straggling fifth-place player in the browser war, is not going to create any sort of cataclysmic shift in the industry, but it’s a start.
