Google has unveiled Playground, an AI platform that allows users to create browser games using only text commands without coding.

On Oct. 7, TechCrunch and Google said Playground is an experimental game platform introduced by Google Labs. Users can pick genres such as quizzes, tower defense and racing, or start from a blank project, then enter game rules, characters, environments and visual style in natural language. They can then continue to adjust physical effects, rules and graphics in a conversational way.

Users can make 2D and 3D games as well as single- and multiplayer games, and the platform also supports uploading reference images. Uploaded images are not inserted as-is; the AI converts them into backgrounds, characters and other elements that match the game’s overall art style. Completed games can run in PC and mobile browsers.

Games can be kept private or shared via a link and made public in the Explorer Gallery. They can continue to be edited after being made public, and some games also support leaderboards and multiplayer functions. Public games undergo a safety review under community guidelines.

Google will later integrate Unity’s Unity Spark. It plans to enable high-quality 3D features, more complex game mechanics and use of the Unity runtime. Unity Spark is currently in testing.

Playground will initially be available to users aged 18 and older in the United States. Game discovery and play are free, but creation requires tokens that refresh each week. Free users receive a limited number of tokens, and Google One AI subscribers get a higher limit.

Competition in AI game creation is also accelerating. Roblox in July unveiled Build, which creates basic games using natural language alone. Google also continues its games business in other forms such as YouTube Playables after announcing the end of Stadia in 2022 and ending the service in January 2023.