Google's now highlighting Pixel 6-optimized games on the Play Store - Android Police

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Although Google demoed its new "Game Dashboard" as part of Android 12 earlier this year, it's only made its way to two select devices so far: the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Designed to offer a handful of tools and optimization settings, we've been waiting to see these flagships really take advantage of improved fidelity and battery usage. With a new category in the Play Store, it looks like that's finally happening.

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Some Pixel 6 users are spotting an "Optimized for Pixel 6" category in the Play Store's Games tab, showing a handful of games that take advantage of everything Google's new hardware has to offer (via 9to5Google). The list's description is pretty vague, promising titles that "boost performance or save power." Some of the games are recognizable — Asphalt 9, Minecraft, League of Legends: Wild Rift, and the ever-infamous Raid: Shadow Legends are among the bunch — but most of the titles fall into casual or sports categories. Scrabble, Temple Run 2, and two different takes on Ludo are among the bunch, though none are what you'd expect to be pushing the Pixel 6 to its gaming limits.

It turns out the only requirement for getting your game onto this list is adding support for Google's Game Mode API. As it stands right now, it remains one of those Android 12 features specific to Pixel phones. Mishaal Rahman pointed out on Twitter that it isn't available in the AOSP variant of Android 12, so don't expect to see a system-level Game Mode arrive on devices other than Pixels any time soon. Thankfully, at this point, most other major manufacturers have similar functionality.

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While all games have access to the Pixel 6's dashboard once it's enabled — accessed by tapping on the floating action button on-screen — the optimization settings are greyed out for any app that doesn't support the required API. All games use the "Standard" setting by default, though you can prioritize performance or battery save for any of the titles on Google's list.

If you're using a Pixel 6 or 6 Pro, you can find these optimized titles by scrolling through the Games tab in the Google Play Store.

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Will Sattelberg (698 Articles Published)

Will has been an Android enthusiast since he got his first smartphone in 2011. He loves watching movies, has a never-ending backlog of video games, and produces a comedy podcast in his spare time. He lives in Buffalo, NY and is willing to give you chicken wing recommendations at any time. Just ask.