Google launched its Android Instant Apps feature a few months ago in the Play Store, allowing folks to check out an application without having to actually install it. The tool is now rolling out to games under the name Google Play Instant.
Google Play Instant can be experienced via the Play Store or Play Games app. To get started, users will have to tap on a new ‘Try Now’ button which is located next to the ‘Install’ button. The app will open within seconds and allow a few brief minutes of gameplay. If they like what they see, they can install the full version of the application.
Play Instant more or less serves as a trial of the game. Some games like Clash Royale let individuals play a 2-game tutorial to get an idea of what it’s like. Others like Solitaire allow for an entire game to be played in instant mode. There’s also Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire, but the game’s size only makes room for a brief fight with a monster and not much else.
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This might be an issue with Play Instant, since the format inherently favors small games over bigger ones. It’s easier to serve a demo of a light app than a heavy one, after all. Google requires developers to fit their app into just 10MB of data, making it easier to stream to the end user.
Ars Technica reports that Google demoed a few other potential uses of Instant Apps at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2018. One would be to send an Instant Apps link to a friend to play a round of Words with Friends without having to wait around for them to install it.
Google has so far listed 6 Play Instant-compatible games and plans to launch more. You can check out the available ones here. Any Android device running Lollipop and above can run the platform.