Google today announced Playground, a new browser-based platform for making custom games from AI prompts. Playground will be available today in the US for users who are 18 and older at playground.google.
The company is pitching it as an “experimental gaming platform†that “lowers the barriers to creation†and doesn't require coding experience. “With Playground's conversational interface, you can direct the game just by typing what you want to build,†Google says in a blog post. “Start from a blank canvas, remix starter prompts, or use guided support to shape your concept — and then test it right away. Want to tweak the physics, rewrite the rules, customize the characters, or overhaul the environment? Just ask. You stay in complete control of the creative direction from rough concept to final polish.â€
When you're finished making your game, you can share it with a link or publish it to the “Playground Explore gallery†so others can play it. “Select genres†will support in-game leaderboards and multiplayer. The gallery will highlight games that are “fresh, creative, and fun†using ratings and play activity, according to Google.
Playground is free to use, but if you have a Google One subscription, you'll have higher weekly token limits based on your plan, Google spokesperson Nia Carter tells The Verge. Under the hood, Playground is powered by “Google's existing foundation models (Gemini, Nano Banana, and Lyria) paired with a custom harness refined through our own internally built games and evaluations,†Carter says.
Alongside today's Playground announcement, Google and Unity are also revealing Unity Spark, an AI game-making experience that's closer to a professional-level game development engine and allows you to create games simultaneously with others. Games made with Unity Spark will be shareable on Playground. A closed beta for Spark is scheduled to kick off later this year, and people who are interested can get on a waitlist starting today.
Google's news today follows Meta's recent announcement that it will let users build games with AI on their phones and on the web for its Horizon platform with new apps rolling out in early access. Published games made with those tools will be able to be recommended on Facebook and Instagram, which could give them more reach than they would have just being on Horizon. Roblox has also started letting users make games with AI on their phones as part of a “Build†feature that's in public alpha testing in a few countries.
