As artificial intelligence makes it easier for people without traditional programming, design, or illustration skills to develop games, the barriers to game creation are rapidly falling. The latest example comes from an experiment by Google Labs.

On Wednesday, this tech giant's public incubator and experimental platform launched a new AI game creation platform Playground. This platform allows users to build browser-based games through simple text prompts, without any need for coding experience.

When using Playground, creators can choose the type of game, such as quiz or racing, or they can start creating a project from scratch. They can first specify whether they want to make a 2D or 3D game, and before describing the required mechanics, gameplay, and visual style, they can choose a single-player or multi-player experience. Playground also allows users to upload visual materials, while AI can convert these into game assets that match the overall artistic style of the game.

Google also stated that it plans to incorporate Unity Spark in future updates. This integration could enable Playground users to access more 3D features and "professional-level" game mechanics through Unity technology, thereby further expanding the range of content that can be created on the platform.

Playground Initially available only to users 18 years of age and older in the United States, Google plans to expand its availability to more countries. Browsing and playing games in the catalog is free, while generating games relies on a weekly token system. The free tier offers a limited number of token, while Google One AI subscription users can obtain higher usage quotas.

Google has launched Playground, bringing it into a growing market of AI game development tools. For example, Roblox announced its Build feature in July, which allows users to create games through natural language prompts.

This move also continues Google's broader interest in the gaming sector. The company previously explored cloud gaming in 2022 Stadia, and later continued to bring games to other platforms, including YouTube Playables – a dedicated portal that offers a range of instant-play web games.