Google has hired Noah Falstein as its “Chief Game Designer,” lending credence to the rumors that the company may be moving forward with its plans to further establish a native gaming presence on Android. The hire was discovered by TechCrunch, who found Falstein's LinkedIn profile listing his new title as “Chief Game Designer at Android Play Studio.” The LinkedIn profile no longer lists the position, but the news was later confirmed by The Verge.

We've already seen Google leap into gaming with last year’s Ingress, a near-real-time, augmented reality online game developed by NianticLabs@Google. There have also been leaks of code apparently pointing to an upcoming gaming portal for Android, à la Apple’s Game Center. To top off the rumors, Google I/O has several sessions dedicated to developments in mobile gaming specifically on Android. When all of these things come together, it's hard not to get a little excited about Google's potential gaming future.

Falstein has been in the gaming industry since 1980 and was one of the first to be employed at LucasArts (née Lucasfilm Games). He’s worked on Sinistar, Battlehawks 1942, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure, and Hungry Red Planet. His most recent work was as a freelance design consultant to several major studios, including Microsoft, LucasArts, and Disney. He serves on the advisory board for the Games for Health Conference and Serious Games Summit.

It’s unclear if Falstein’s background in non-traditional gaming will be a part of Google’s gaming footprint, but it’ll be interesting to see what the search giant has in store with Falstein officially on board. Hopefully we'll find out more at Google I/O, May 15-17 in San Francisco.