Google is reportedly working on a new social network based around gaming.
According to Bloomberg, the technology giant has enlisted young entrepreneur Micheal Sayman – who has previously worked at Facebook – to build a new social gaming platform.
The project is known as Arcade, and does not use existing social networks to tie in users, instead creating accounts based on their phone number.
Google confirmed the existence of Arcade to Bloomberg, but has not elaborated on what the platform actually is or could look like, other than to say it is “focused on mobile gaming with friends” and describing it as a “very early experiment”.
Such a concept already exists in different forms – Facebook has a dedicated Games section, while major console platforms such as PlayStation and Xbox have a range of social interaction tools to enable players to make new friends as well as connect with existing ones.
The creation of Arcade would mark a return to the social networking arena for Google, which has been away from the market since scaling back Google+, its failed attempt to rival the likes of Facebook and Twitter.
