YouTube is expanding its offerings to include gaming, but this time it's exclusively for its Premium subscribers. The platform recently introduced "Playables," a collection of online games accessible directly through YouTube's mobile and desktop apps. Initially tested with a select group of users in September, YouTube has now rolled out this feature to all Premium members, as reported by Droid-Life. Subscribers received notifications last week, inviting them to explore a variety of 37 mini-games, all embedded within YouTube, eliminating the need for any downloads or installations.
The game selection is designed to be engaging yet not overly complex, featuring popular titles like Angry Birds Showdown, Brain Out, Daily Solitaire, The Daily Crossword, and several arcade games. However, this gaming feature might be temporary, as YouTube's notification indicated availability only until March 28th, 2024. Premium users can locate these games in the "Playables" section under the Explore tab.
YouTube's venture into gaming follows a trend among tech giants, although not all have been successful in this arena. Google recently shut down its Stadia service, and Amazon scaled back its free games division, laying off over 130 employees. Even TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, announced layoffs in its gaming unit despite earlier ambitions for expansion.