Google Play Games gets feature to compare achievements with friends

Google has tweaked the Play Games app to put more emphasis on socializing with friends. It becomes easier to view the profile of friends, and to compare achievements with others.

The ‘Profile’ button that normally takes users to their own profile has now been replaced by a ‘Social’ button. In that section it becomes easier to invite friends to play a particular game. Players who click on a friend from the contact list will also see which games their friends have last played, and they can compare their levels and achievements if both friends have the same games. Users who go to the new social section for the first time will immediately see the privacy settings there. They can then set which data friends or everyone can view. They can also control whether games can access their friend lists.

The changes, first spotted by Android Police, have been coming for some time, according to code in a beta version. Now the function seems to be definitive, although Google is gradually rolling it out among users.