Google is quietly trialling 30 different ‘Playables’ within YouTube aimed squarely at the hypercasual and casual market.
The test offering is effectively the polar opposite of Stadia, Google’s cancelled game streaming platform, which was pitched squarely at core PC and console game players.
Developers including Rovio, Voodoo, Zeptolab, Homa, Azur and FRVR are currently part of the Playables trial, which was pushed live in the last week.
It is running until March 28 2024 for YouTube Premium subscribers in a limited number of territories, including the UK. Playables can be manually switched on for logged in Premium subscribers with this link, if the test is available in your region.
When activated a new Playables section featuring 30 games appears in the main feed of the YouTube app and in browsers. The games are instantly playable after a short loading screen, though of course they require a solid connection.
The most notable games and companies involved include Rovio’s Angry Birds Showdown, a PvP take on the familiar franchise, Homa hits Merge Master and Farm Land and Zeptolab’s Om Nom Run, which has been brought to Playables by Famobi. Hypercasual firm Azur is also featured with its RTS-lite State.io.
We noted two Voodoo games on the service, Draw Climber and Slice It All!, and FRVR also has two Playables, a Mahjong game and the same simple high score basketball game that was also in TikTok’s in-feed playables trial earlier this year. Words of Wonders and Words of Wonders Guru are also here from mobile developer Fugo.
Three browser game specialists are well represented: we counted 12 games from HTML5 specialist Gamesnacks, seven games from Famobi, and Arkadium appears to have been Google’s choice to cover off the ‘classics’ angle with several crossword and solitiare games.
Other titles in the mix include Eyewind’s BrainOut quiz game, Endless Siege from Ravalmatic and a couple of former ‘Google Doodle’ games turned into Playables, Magic Cat Academy and Rainy Boba Cafe.
Similar to TikTok earlier this year, Google’s selection of partners and games suggests it is aiming at the hypercasual and casual end of the market, as many of the titles have familiar retention mechanics like in-game currencies and daily rewards.
None of the titles we played featured any ads, but these will inevitably be part of the final product should Google and YouTube press on with making games playable in-app for all users.
