An internal testing phase is underway at YouTube for a potential new product aimed at online gaming, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. In an email sent to employees of Google, YouTube’s parent company, individuals were invited to participate in testing the product called ‘Playables’. The games available for testing include titles like Stack Bounce, an arcade game. Testing can be conducted on YouTube’s website using web browsers or on mobile devices running Google’s Android or Apple’s iOS.
A spokesperson for YouTube acknowledged the company’s ongoing focus on gaming and mentioned that they are actively experimenting with new features. However, no specific announcements were made at this time.
The Wall Street Journal report highlighted that this move to host online games on YouTube is part of CEO Neal Mohan’s efforts to explore new avenues of growth, particularly in response to a slowdown in advertising spending. Given YouTube’s existing popularity as a platform for game streaming and live gameplay content, this expansion into gaming aligns with its existing offerings.
