Google takes on Game Center with Google Play Games for Android

Google just introduced a new, dedicated gaming app for the Android ecosystem called Google Play Games. It’s essentially Android’s answer to Apple’s Game Center — it lists both games and your friends on a single screen and lets you see highlights from both categories. You can tap through to see achievements for the games you’re playing, social and public leaderboards, the most recently played games from your friends, and so forth. There are also friend suggestions included to help you expand your gaming circle. The new app builds on the Play Games API and services that the company introduced back at I/O in May, and Google says the new app will be available today.