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Google will launch the firm’s in-browser Chrome Web Store as in October according to a report from GDC.
Michael Mahemoff from Google’s Chrome development team and Google’s new game developer advocate Mark DeLoura gave a presentation regarding the upcoming Google Chrome Web Store at GDC Europe according to a report on 1up. The October launch date is clearly visible on one of the images of the Google presentation.
The presentation sought to show game developers how to create casual games which can be sold through the new store which will appear within the company’s Chrome web browser. Games can be bought using the Google checkout but Google wont be taking a cut of the revenue to developers other than a 5% "processing fee".
The session also explained how Google sees new standards such as HTML5 being used to make games in graphics systems like WebGL and even native code support with C++ raising the possibility of fully immersive games like the browser-based Quake 3 Arena.
Following recent acquisitions such as the Slide casual web game developer and Jambool for the "social gold" virtual currency, speculation has mounted as to the company’s entry into social gaming. Yet it seems more likely that these acquisitions are immediately relevant to the new Chrome Web Store.
Given the acquisition of Jambool and rumored talks of PayPal appearing in the Google Market, the entire payment microcosm behind the Chrome Web Store looks set for an overhaul including Paypal, Social Gold and Google’s existing Checkout.
Google also has a Chrome operating system in development for netbooks and tablets. The Linux-based Chrome OS consists of a new user interface but which is said to be devoted to offering a platform to the Chrome browser with applications being conducted through the Google cloud rather than local storage.
If successful the Google Chrome Web Store will be a major new feature for the new Chrome OS, potentially bringing a large cross-platform catalog of games onto the mobile operating system in addition to the Internet giant’s productivity applications such as Google Docs.
Image credit: Google
