Android 13: game loading times should be significantly reduced

Android 13 is going to come with a few new features and various improvements, with one of them expected to relate to loading for games. In any case, this is what the code of the mobile operating system suggests, after a search by Hope.

Better for games with Android 13

Android 13 adds a new method called setGameState to the GameManager API, allowing games to communicate their current state to the system. This allows games to transmit the high-level state of the game and whether or not it can be interrupted. Additionally, games can also use the setGameState to tell the operating system if the game is loading assets, resources, etc. The platform can then send a load time hint to the hardware abstraction layer to activate the new GAME_LOADING mode and improve CPU performance. However, it is the smartphone manufacturers who will have to specify the processor performance settings they wish to apply when the GAME_LOADING mode is active.

In theory, this should mean that the loading times of games on Android 13 will be significantly reduced. Many manufacturers are already implementing various optimizations — such as allocating additional CPU and GPU resources — to improve loading. Here, we are talking about a native system that is technically valid for everyone.

Google has already offered two Developer Previews of Android 13. The first beta will likely arrive next month at the I/O conference. Logically, we will have to wait until this summer to have the final version.