Google spins up mobile social games start-up Arcade

Google is building up a mobile social games start-up inside the company called Arcade.

Confirming the news to Bloomberg, a Google spokesperson said the new studio is “focused on mobile gaming with friends”.

However, they added that “it’s a very early experiment so there aren’t many details to share right now”.

Social network

According to Bloomberg sources, the idea behind the studio is to create a new kind of social network, with a game effectively acting like one after it reaches a large enough audience.

Its first project is said to utilise elements of a trivia game and is expected to release in the summer.

The new start-up is being headed up by Michael Sayman, who previously worked at Facebook for a number of years as a software engineer and product manager before joining Google in 2017.

It’s part of Google’s ‘Area 120’, in which Google employees are given the opportunity to create their own start-up within Google, much like how Pokemon Go developer Niantic was created.

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