Google Play Games finally rolled out the update that brings automatic sign-in, along with the much touted Gamer ID system.
Google announced the change months ago, promising back in late January to simplify the sign-in process for a smoother experience. Roughly one month later, in February, the company said it was rolling out the update "over the next few weeks."
As it turns out, those few weeks stretched all the way to April, but the update is finally up for grabs. Months after the announcement, it's finally time to switch to the new system in case you haven't already.
A few users managed to move over to the new Gamer ID system a couple of days after the original announcement, but Google stopped the rollout shortly after starting it. Speculation indicated that some bugs in the conversion affected the process, prompting Google to pull the update. Only a few accounts have been able to switch to the new system since then, while most accounts remained in private mode.
The latest Google Play Games update to version 3.7 now allows all gamers to switch to the new system, fully enabling the new customization features and automatic sign-in process.
Google Play Games v3.7 allows users to create a Gamer ID, which they can easily do by picking an account name and an avatar (optional). Users will see the new setup screen either when trying to switch their account from private to public, or when going to their account and tapping the new edit button in the upper-right corner.
Gamers can now choose to make their profile discoverable by name and email, and have their activity visible to the public. Selecting the pen icon that appears on your profile screen will allow you to change these details at any time.
The automatic sign-in process, meanwhile, allows users to sign in to their Google Play Games Gamer ID without having it ask for unnecessary permissions or prompting a sign-in each and every time. It will only ask permissions to access social networking-related data, since the Gamer ID is no longer associated with one's Google+ profile.
In addition to these major changes, Google also packed a number of smaller changes in this update. The "Inbox" section, for instance, is now called "Notifications."
Without further ado, you can grab the latest update right now. Google has yet to start rolling out v3.7 to devices, but the APK file is available for download already. Once you've upgraded to the latest version, drop by our comments section below and tell us what you think of it.
