Google reportedly backing a new social games startup

Michael Sayman, originally invited to Facebook as a 17-year-old by Mark Zuckerberg, created a video-centric social app for teens, Lifestage, when he was 19. Now the young superstar is behind a secret Google social-gaming startup called Arcade, according to a report at Bloomberg. The new company's first app, say the site's sources, is set to debut this summer with elements of trivia games at its core.

Bloomberg reports that Google confirmed the existence of Arcade, and that it focuses mainly on mobile gaming with friends. The startup is part of Google's side-project assistant, Area 120, which lets employees spend 20 percent of their time doing passion projects. Sources say that the games at Arcade aren't connected to any current social networks; instead, users create accounts using their own phone number.