June 26th 2023.
Despite the unmitigated failure of Stadia, Google is not giving up on gaming. In fact, the tech giant is reportedly testing a new initiative called Playables, which will allow gamers to play video games directly through YouTube. According to The Wall Street Journal, an internal test is being conducted with Google staff. The only title currently being tested is called Stack Bounce, a simple browser game.
This initiative is apparently part of YouTube CEO Neal Mohan's efforts to find new ways of growing YouTube, as spending on advertising has dropped. While there is no information about whether these games will be available for free or through a paid subscription, a Google spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that “gaming has long been a focus at YouTube. We’re always experimenting with new features, but have nothing to announce right now.”
Google is likely hoping that this new initiative will be more successful than Stadia, which was meant to be a demonstration of cloud gaming’s potential. To make it appealing to gamers, Google may come up with some exclusive titles. However, the company has already said that it would do the same with Stadia, only to shut down its internal developers before any such titles were released.
Surprisingly, there is no indication that cloud gaming is involved with Playables. It looks like Google is taking a more cautious approach this time, and focusing on smaller games before attempting something more ambitious. We'll have to wait and see what other news comes out about this new gaming initiative.
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