Google and Unity launch Playground, a browser game maker run by prompts

On 7 October, Google introduced Playground, an experimental platform for making, playing and sharing browser games from text prompts, with no coding needed. You describe the game, then ask for changes to the rules, physics, characters or setting.

Unity announced a partnership with Google on the same day. It says Playground is available to users aged 18 and over. The Verge and TechCrunch report that it's only open in the US for now, and TechCrunch says Google plans to expand it to more countries.

Finished games can stay private, be shared with a link, or be published to Playground's Explore gallery. Google says every published game goes through safety screening against its Community Guidelines, and players can report games.

The bigger step is Unity Spark, which both companies describe as a more advanced creation tool with 3D and professional-level mechanics. Unity says it arrives later this year, and Google says it's in testing now. TechCrunch reports that playing games is free and making them runs on a weekly token allowance.