Date:
November 28, 2023
YouTube, a popular streaming platform, has now entered into the playable league by launching its own 30+ mini-games.
YouTube has remained a leader in the online video-streaming industry for 18 years. It has now entered the gaming industry with a subtle launch of 37 mini-games. The platform has rolled out many exclusive features for its premium users, one of which will now be these games. The giant is exploring new ways to monetize its premium plan. The company was spotted trying this feature out within a select user limit in September, according to The Droid Life.
It has now launched a standalone platform for gaming, on which any premium user can simply click and play through the app or on the official website. YouTube sent a notification to all its Premium users to try the new feature. Currently, the feature is available on an opt-in basis without the need to download or install the games. The platform has named the new standalone feature Playables.
What’s New In YouTube Gaming?
While the official launch of full-fledged games is supposedly on 28th March 2024, users can start exploring the library right now. None of the 37 freshly launched games are challenging or too difficult to have fun with. Some of the most popular titles in the library are Angry Birds Showdown, Brain Out, Solitaire, The Daily Crossword, and a number of Arcade games. Any user wanting to explore the new games can simply click on the Explore Tab and hit the Payables button.
Is It Another Failed Launch?
YouTube is not the first one from the non-gaming tech industry to try its hands on the gaming feature. Netflix has become the most popular non-gaming tech player to introduce and retain its unique games library. Otherwise, giants like TikTok and Meta have delayed their official launch announcements for years.
Google had earlier tried introducing the games service Stadia, and after receiving mixed responses, finally decided to shut it off. Amazon also entered the gaming race and quickly left it, laying off nearly 130 people from its gaming wing. The company’s reason behind the layoff still remains ‘Refocusing efforts.’ TikTok, another major player in the entertainment and social media segment, released a major push in gaming, only to announce a 1000-employee layoff from the games department later.
YouTube usually stays out of its parent company’s testing grounds. So, if the platform has released something completely off-beat to its known genre, there might be something great cooking, especially for the premium subscribers. All we need to do now is wait, watch, and maybe play if you are one of the premium ones.
