YouTube’s Experimental Service Lets Users Play Games on Desktops, Mobile Devices

Google might turn YouTube into a gaming platform, as well as a video-sharing one.

The search giant is recently spotted to be testing a new experimental service that lets users play games directly on YouTube on both desktop and mobile devices.

As it is only experimental as of press time, only those who can access the service can try it for themselves.

Watch n' Play

Google has had some interest in expanding in the video game industry. You may recall it released and eventually discontinued its Google Stadia cloud gaming console after only four years of operation, per the official Google Stadia website.

While Google Stadia is the search giant's first major excursion into the video game industry, it seems it won't be the last. A report from 9to5Google stated that Google is a new experimental service called "Playables."

This service, according to YouTube's test features and experiments page, allows users to play video games directly on YouTube on both desktop and mobile devices. Those who can access the service can find it under a section on YouTube called "Playables," which they can find alongside other content on the home feed.

Unfortunately, Google's announcement didn't provide more details about what types of games beta testers can play through the service. However, they can view and control their Playables history and saved game progress in YouTube History; whether this scheme will remain if Google decides to launch its YouTube Playables service remains to be seen.

A report from Game Rant stated that the service has some overlap with Instant Apps, a Google Play Store feature the search giant introduced in 2016. According to its Google Play Store webpage, Instant Apps lets people use an app or game without installing it first.

The main difference between the two, however, is that Instant App provides mobile gamers with a game demo to give them a gist of what a game offers. Playables, on the other hand, offer a complete game experience.

Another Google Stadia In The Making?

YouTube's Playables presents a unique avenue for Google to expand into the video game industry. However, the existence of such a service, experimental it may be, doesn't guarantee its eventual release to the public; those that do could get shut down if they don't perform well.

Google's ill-fated Stadia cloud gaming console is a perfect example of such a mindset. A Sept. 2022 Google blog post from Phil Harrison, Google Stadia's Vice President and General Manager, said that the cloud gaming console failed to gain traction in the gaming community.

Google announced the Stadia's launch in Nov. 2019; it had two million active users by Feb. 2022, with 160,000 of them being paying Pro users, per Levvel's report. A Dualshockers report revealed that while Google Stadia was available in 200 countries, people in only 23 countries saw interest in the cloud gaming console.

Aside from the Google Stadia, Google also discontinued its plans for Nvidia-powered Chromebooks, disappointing ChromeOS fans who wanted superpowered Google gaming products, per The Verge.