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Following the deprecation of the
Google Sign-In
API, we are removing the games v1 SDK in 2026. After February 2025, you will be unable to publish
titles that are newly integrated with games v1 SDK, on Google Play. We recommend that you use the
games v2 SDK instead.
While existing titles with the previous games v1 integrations continue to function for a
couple of years, you are encouraged to
migrate to v2
starting June 2025.
This guide is for using the Play Games Services v1 SDK. Video recording
is not supported in the Play Games Services v2 SDK.
The video recording API enables you to easily add video recording to your game
and let users share their videos with friends on YouTube in a few simple
steps. For example, you could add a button off of a battle replay screen that
when pressed would bring up the Play Games video recording experience.
Familiarize yourself with the recommendations described in the
Quality Checklist.
Get the videos client
To start using the video recording API, your game must first obtain a
VideosClient object. You can do this by calling the
Games.getVideosClient() method and passing in the
activity and the GoogleSignInAccount for the current player. To learn how to
retrieve the player account information, see
Sign-in in Android Games.
Video recording API basics
You can use the video recording API to integrate a video recording experience
directly from within your game.
The video recording experience for users includes the following:
The video recording overlay, which has three buttons:
Start / stop recording
Turn on / off mic
Turn on / off forward facing camera
A developer-provided button to initiate recording, or an alternate recording
trigger
A clickable toast that pops up at the end of recording that enables players to
upload the video to YouTube, or view the video through the Photos app
(Note: recorded videos are stored under the category ScreenCasts in Photos)
Launch the video recording overlay
To initiate video recording for the currently signed-in player, follow these
steps:
If the call is successful, Google Play games services returns a
Task object which
asynchronously loads an intent to launch the video recording overlay.
Use the intent from the previous step to start an activity.
Here's an example of how to bring up the video recording overlay:
The video recording API lets you integrate a video recording experience directly
in your game.
Tip
Description
Make the video recording trigger easily discoverable
Prominently place a recording button off your main menu
Automatically trigger the overlay from a dedicated and clearly labeled recording mode menu option
Promote use of the feature in your store listing and inside the game
Use a screenshot in your store listing that displays the video recording overlay
Promote the video recording feature through in-game promotions
Consider providing in-game rewards for replay sharing
Engage your player community with replay competitions
Encourage players to record and share game replays with weekly / monthly / yearly replay competitions
Recognize top videos and creators in-game or through social media
Content and code samples on this page are subject to the licenses described in the Content License. Java and OpenJDK are trademarks or registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Last updated 2025-03-13 UTC.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-03-13 UTC."],[],[],null,["# Video recording in Android games\n\nFollowing the deprecation of the\n[Google Sign-In](https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2024/09/streamlining-android-authentication-credential-manager-replaces-legacy-apis.html)\nAPI, we are removing the games v1 SDK in 2026. After February 2025, you will be unable to publish\ntitles that are newly integrated with games v1 SDK, on Google Play. We recommend that you use the\ngames v2 SDK instead. \n\nWhile existing titles with the previous games v1 integrations continue to function for a\ncouple of years, you are encouraged to\n[migrate to v2](/games/pgs/android/migrate-to-v2)\nstarting June 2025. \n\nThis guide is for using the Play Games Services v1 SDK. Video recording\nis not supported in the Play Games Services v2 SDK.\n\nThe video recording API enables you to easily add video recording to your game\nand let users share their videos with friends on YouTube in a few simple\nsteps. For example, you could add a button off of a battle replay screen that\nwhen pressed would bring up the Play Games video recording experience.\n\nThis guide shows you how to implement video recording in games using the\nGoogle Play Games Services. The APIs can be found in the\n[`com.google.android.gms.games.video`](https://developers.google.com/android/reference/com/google/android/gms/games/video/package-summary) and\n[`com.google.android.gms.games`](https://developers.google.com/android/reference/com/google/android/gms/games/package-summary) packages.\n\nBefore you begin\n----------------\n\nBefore you start to use the video recording API:\n\n- Download and review the\n [code sample](https://github.com/playgameservices/android-basic-samples).\n\n- Familiarize yourself with the recommendations described in the\n [Quality Checklist](/games/pgs/v1/quality).\n\nGet the videos client\n---------------------\n\nTo start using the video recording API, your game must first obtain a\n[`VideosClient`](https://developers.google.com/android/games_v1/reference/com/google/android/gms/games/VideosClient.html) object. You can do this by calling the\n[`Games.getVideosClient()`](https://developers.google.com/android/reference/com/google/android/gms/games/Games.html#getVideosClient(android.app.Activity,%20com.google.android.gms.auth.api.signin.GoogleSignInAccount)) method and passing in the\nactivity and the [`GoogleSignInAccount`](https://developers.google.com/android/reference/com/google/android/gms/auth/api/signin/GoogleSignInAccount) for the current player. To learn how to\nretrieve the player account information, see\n[Sign-in in Android Games](/games/pgs/v1/android/signin).\n| **Note:** The [`VideosClient`](https://developers.google.com/android/games_v1/reference/com/google/android/gms/games/VideosClient.html) class makes use of the Google Play services [`Task`](https://developers.google.com/android/reference/com/google/android/gms/tasks/Task) class to return results asynchronously. To learn more about using tasks to manage threaded work, see the [Tasks API developer guide](https://developers.google.com/android/guides/tasks).\n\nVideo recording API basics\n--------------------------\n\nYou can use the video recording API to integrate a video recording experience\ndirectly from within your game.\n\nThe video recording experience for users includes the following:\n\n- The video recording overlay, which has three buttons:\n\n 1. Start / stop recording\n 2. Turn on / off mic\n 3. Turn on / off forward facing camera\n\n | **Note:** Clicking the overlay's forward facing camera display brings up the three aforementioned buttons.\n- A developer-provided button to initiate recording, or an alternate recording\n trigger\n\n- A clickable toast that pops up at the end of recording that enables players to\n upload the video to YouTube, or view the video through the Photos app\n (Note: recorded videos are stored under the category `ScreenCasts` in Photos)\n\nLaunch the video recording overlay\n----------------------------------\n\nTo initiate video recording for the currently signed-in player, follow these\nsteps:\n\n1. Call the [`VideosClient.getCaptureOverlayIntent()`](https://developers.google.com/android/reference/com/google/android/gms/games/VideosClient.html#getCaptureOverlayIntent()) method.\n2. If the call is successful, Google Play games services returns a [`Task`](https://developers.google.com/android/reference/com/google/android/gms/tasks/Task) object which asynchronously loads an intent to launch the video recording overlay.\n3. Use the intent from the previous step to start an activity.\n\nHere's an example of how to bring up the video recording overlay: \n\n```transact-sql\nprivate static final int RC_VIDEO_OVERLAY = 9011;\n\npublic void showVideoOverlay(View myview) {\n Games.getVideosClient(this, GoogleSignIn.getLastSignedInAccount(this))\n .getCaptureOverlayIntent()\n .addOnSuccessListener(new OnSuccessListener\u003cIntent\u003e() {\n @Override\n public void onSuccess(Intent intent) {\n startActivityForResult(intent, RC_VIDEO_OVERLAY);\n }\n });\n}\n```\n\nTips for using video recording data\n-----------------------------------\n\nThe video recording API lets you integrate a video recording experience directly\nin your game.\n\n| Tip | Description |\n|----------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|\n| Make the video recording trigger easily discoverable | - Prominently place a recording button off your main menu - Automatically trigger the overlay from a dedicated and clearly labeled recording mode menu option |\n| Promote use of the feature in your store listing and inside the game | - Use a screenshot in your store listing that displays the video recording overlay - Promote the video recording feature through in-game promotions - Consider providing in-game rewards for replay sharing |\n| Engage your player community with replay competitions | - Encourage players to record and share game replays with weekly / monthly / yearly replay competitions - Recognize top videos and creators in-game or through social media |"]]