"There is a longer term goal of opening up the API so the architecture of Lively could be used as an online games platform," Hanna told GamesIndustry.biz, adding that the software will be "pushing the different genres of known game types" through future updates.

Though he could "neither confirm nor deny" if Google has any internal game projects in the works, Hanna expressed his belief that gaming is being bogged down by corporate-mandated features meant to generate mass-market appeal.

"It's sucking the life out of what should be the most creative and innovative medium out there," he explained. "I hope that [Lively] inspires those same 'passionate start-ups' and kids in college to actually go and produce games where they don't have to worry about the visual bar or the accessibility, because those things are already pre-established."