Google secretly building social-gaming start-up Arcade
What's the story
Google is reportedly building a social-gaming start-up called Arcade that will be "focused on mobile gaming with friends." Arcade will not offer sign-up tie-in options with any existing social networks and users will need to create separate accounts with their phone numbers to access its games. Arcade is being considered as Google's social media investment as successful gaming platforms eventually become social networks by themselves.
Details
Arcade will be run by 21-year-old Google Wunderkind
The start-up will be spearheaded by 21-year-old wunderkind Michael Sayman. He will be the founder and co-owner of the new firm. Sayman started as a Facebook intern at the age of 17 and then joined Google in August last year as a product manager in the Google Assistant team. In that capacity, Sayman often advised the team on teen behavior with regard to technology.
Information
Arcade's first gaming app will launch this summer
Arcade's first gaming app slated to debut this summer. It will reportedly feature trivia games. "It's a very early experiment so there aren't many details to share," a company source said. Previously, the Google Plus social media experiment hadn't worked out for the company.
Context
Arcade is part of Google's in-house start-up incubator Area 120
Area 120 aims at employee retention and gives Googlers a chance to work full-time on their start-up ideas, for which they might have otherwise left the company. As an Area 120 start-up, Google will provide Sayman with a budget for hiring staff, marketing, design, and finance. Area 120 initiatives like Arcade often end up getting integrated into Google's broader product line.