Google recently invited employees to begin testing a new YouTube product called Playables, which gives users access to games on mobile devices or desktop computers, according to the email, which was viewed by The Wall Street Journal. Users would be able to play the games instantly via the YouTube site on web browsers or the YouTube app via devices running Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS mobile systems, according to the email. YouTube, which counts billions of monthly users, is already a popular destination for gamers and competes with Amazon’s Twitch for viewers of livestreamed footage. “Gaming has long been a focus at YouTube,” a company spokesman said in a statement. Stadia head Phil Harrison said Google saw opportunities to apply the service’s technology to other parts of the company, including YouTube, following the shutdown.

Source: Wall Street Journal June 24, 2023 05:41 UTC