Android users will soon be able to use their phones to play games on Android TV

Gaming on Android TV is about to get a lot better.

Google announced a new feature that will allow users to play multiplayer games on Android TV while using their Android smartphones and tablets as controllers.

The update is powered through a new Nearby Connection API, which allows developers to add the feature to their games. It's part of a larger update to Google Play Games, which helps developers market their products, announced during the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco Monday.

The changes will roll out over the next few weeks but Google showcased one early partner, Vector Unit, the studio behind Beach Buggy Racing, who has already built the Android TV functionality into their game.

"What they're building is the ability to do four-way split screen multiplayer gaming in in the living room using controls that are basically the phones and tablets that are lying around in your pockets and on the coffee table," explains Google's Greg Hartrell, senior product manager of Google Play Games.

Read more.