Google’s ARCore is the evolution of Project Tango, the augmented reality experiment that Google first launched way back in 2014. In a way, ARCore is a shift from experimental AR to the start of something much more practical and user-focused.

To begin with, ARCore will be launched as a developer preview that will be available on Pixel and Galaxy S8 phones running Nougat and above. However, Google hopes to have ARCore running on 100 million devices by the end of the preview period.

According to them, one of the major differences between ARCore and Tango is the autonomy of ARCore. Unlike Tango, ARCore “works without any additional hardware, which means it can scale across the Android ecosystem.” This means a significantly lower barrier to entry for both users and developers, which should lead to a greater rate of adoption.

ARCore works with Java/OpenGL, Unity and Unreal and has three major components that Google is working hard to focus on—motion tracking, environmental understanding and light estimation. You can read all about these features and more in Google’s official post.

Now, the reasons why you should care as a gamer are pretty obvious here. First of all, advancements in technology are almost always beneficial to the world of gaming. Plus, this means we’re one step closer to actually getting some really cool AR games and gaming technology (if you haven’t seen some of the stuff Microsoft is doing with the HoloLens, you should check this out).

The one thing that might not be so obvious is the Indie possibilities that ARCore brings to the table. Now that the tech is so much more accessible, Indie developers will have a much easier time getting their hands on it and working with it. Just look at what happened when they finally got a chance to work with VR; the technology blitzed forward with tons of new ideas and as a result, we got some seriously great games. Indie developers have a habit of bringing clean takes and fresh minds to the table, which almost always results in further innovation, both directly and indirectly.

The technology behind ARCore is awesome in itself, but the lowered barrier to entry is perhaps the most exciting part.