YouTube is internally testing a product for playing online games, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, According to an email sent to employees at parent company Google.
According to the report, the company allowed employees to begin testing the new YouTube product known as “Playables,” and that games like the arcade game Stack Bounce were among those that could be tested.
According to the report, the games can be played on YouTube’s website using web browsers or on mobile devices running Apple‘s iOS or Google’s Android operating systems.
In the article, only one game was mentioned, Stack Bounce, a casual arcade game in which players must use a ball to smash horizontally stuck bricks.
The idea is reportedly a part of YouTube CEO Neal Mohan’s initiative to find new growth markets in the wake of declining spending on advertising.
YouTube’s Past Gaming Ventures and the Rise of Competitors
Of course, this isn’t Google’s first attempt to use YouTube to forge a more direct path into the playable game market. Full YouTube integration, enabling users to start playing a game as they watched its trailer or a title being played by a streamer, was a key component of Stadia’s initial marketing presentation for its now-defunct games streaming service. These ambitious targets had to be abandoned when Google shut down Stadia in January, only four years after it debuted.
The launch of Google’s Playables initiative comes with other video-on-demand companies, like Netflix and Amazon, making inroads in the playable gaming sector. However, The Wall Street Journal makes no mention of a potential first date for Playables.
“Gaming has long been a focus at YouTube,” a Google spokesman told the publication . “We’re always experimenting with new features, but have nothing to announce right now.”
YouTube’s exploration of an online-games offering has the potential to reshape the gaming industry. However, addressing the aforementioned challenges will be crucial for its success. As YouTube’s plans continue to develop in the coming months, industry observers eagerly anticipate the potential transformation this feature could bring to both gaming and online video platforms.
