Google Reportedly Testing Letting People Play Games on YouTube

Google is reportedly testing a new product that will let users play games on YouTube, The Wall Street Journal reports

According to the outlet, the new product is called "Playables" and would let users play games instantly through the YouTube app on mobile devices as well as on desktop computers. Google recently invited employees to begin testing the product, with one of the games currently playable in the testing period called Stack Bounce, an arcade game that sounds similar to games like Brick Breaker Arcade on Android.

"Gaming has long been a focus at YouTube," a YouTube spokesman said in a statement sent to IGN. "We're always experimenting with new features but have nothing to announce right now."

The recent report comes at an interesting time for Google, should it plan to venture off into the gaming space once more. Google's previous attempt was its cloud gaming platform, Stadia, which launched back in 2019, but Google announced last September it was shutting down the service on January 18, 2023. Prior to that, Google outsourced the tech that powered Stadia; one example included a white-label product, with AT&T using it to allow customers to stream a demo of Batman: Arkham Knight free of charge.

:story: IGN