Google surrendered the field of AAA game streaming with Stadia, but that won't stop it from launching a poorly conceived web and mobile gaming platform on YouTube.
Google's previous attempt at gaming didn't go well
Soon, YouTube users may be able to engage with small gaming experiences called "Playables." These would launch directly in the YouTube browser or in a mobile app on iPhone and be easily sharable between users.
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Google has told YouTube employees, via an internal email, that a product called Playables was being tested. It would give users "access to games on mobile devices or desktop computers."
Little information has been shared about this planned gaming push since it isn't yet public. However, one game did leak called Stack Bounce -- a simple brick breaking game.
"Gaming has long been a focus at YouTube," a company spokesman said in a statement. "We're always experimenting with new features, but have nothing to announce right now."
The approach Google and YouTube seem to be taking is a mix of what we've seen before. Facebook and Netflix both offer games to their users but via different means.
Facebook, for example, gave users the ability to play games normally found on mobile via the browser and an app called "Facebook Gaming." That app shut down in 2022, but games are still available on Facebook's website and the Facebook app.
Apps found on Facebook's gaming platform tend to be simple puzzle, idle, or matching games. The early description of YouTube's Playables seems to mimic Facebook's approach.
Facebook Gaming doesn't exactly scream 'for gamers'
Netflix has taken a more modern approach with its gaming push. Users can download full-sized titles and sign in via their Netflix account to play.
YouTube could offer games using either method, but the reasoning behind the move is perplexing. Google Stadia was already a decent gaming platform that suffered from a lack of scalability and effort from the company.
Google's executives say they are serious about gaming, a want to take advantage of gamers visiting their platform to view live streams and other videos. However, if the games offered are no better than Zynga games found on Facebook circa 2012, then it shows an incredible lack of understanding of the gaming market.
There is a chance Google won't launch this product. But if it does, like many other half-baked ideas from the company, we expect it will join Google's ever-expanding graveyard soon after launch.