Google begins countdown to I/O with teaser game

Google usually holds its annual I/O developer conference in the spring, and with January almost behind us it's time for the company to start looking ahead to its big event. 

To kick things off in an unsurprisingly Google way, the search giant launched a way for interested developers and fans to get details by solving a collective online game. 

Called "a collaboration of the cosmos," when solved the online game should reveal information about Google's forthcoming developer conference. Users will need to help get an "intergalactic satellite network" back online, with the company adding that "only by working collectively will we restore the signal to reveal a special message for all the galaxy to see."

As of publication, progress on the game stood at less than one percent completed. Once the "cosmos aligned" and the game was completed, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai tweeted the date of Google I/O on Thursday evening. It will be at Shoreline Ampitheatre in Mountain View on May 12-14. 

Google traditionally holds its I/O event -- where it showcases updates that are in the works for Android and ChromeOS as well as occasionally releasing new hardware --  in May, most recently utilizing the Shoreline Amphitheater in its hometown of Mountain View, California. 

Originally published Jan. 23, 9:31 a.m. PT.
Update, 4:58 p.m.: Adds date and location of Google I/O.

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