according to Wall Street JournalAnd YouTube is testing a product for playing video games online. YouTube’s plan to bypass video content hosting and video game sharing was the subject of an email sent to Google employees.
The product already has a name. Playables, which will allow users to access games on mobile devices or desktop computers. Email invited Google employees to test drive the new gaming platform, and WSJ had the opportunity to view Email.
One of the games mentioned by the Wall Street Journal is called Stack Bounce. It is an arcade game in which players throw a bouncing ball to break layers of bricks. Users will be able to play immediately on the YouTube website or from the YouTube mobile app for iOS and Android. Gamers are already turning to YouTube to watch live video game competitions. YouTube competes with Amazon’s Twitch for viewers willing to watch other gamers compete.
By hosting games, YouTube will enter another aspect of the online gaming industry, as the platform seeks to revive dwindling advertising revenue. Although the online gaming industry has also been suffering lately, a company spokesperson said: “ YouTube has a long history of gaming. We’re still experimenting with new features, but don’t have anything to announce at this time. “.
The Google Play Store includes mobile games available to Android users, and developers who earn more than $1 million annually must give Google up to 30% of in-app transactions. It is not clear how Google plans to take advantage of the new YouTube product. But even game developers are struggling to make money in the post-pandemic world. Once popular titles like Angry Birds no longer generate the same revenue stream as they once did.
Carrying the Stadia torch?
Last year, Google announce Closing Stadia, a service that allowed users to stream games directly fromcloudson multiple devices. But subscriber numbers never really took off, Stadia director Phil Harrison saw YouTube’s opportunity to use Stadia technology to help the video player create a new revenue stream.
Some of the games tested on YouTube are simple games that have been popular for some time on services such as WeChat and Facebook. In other words, the games that YouTube might offer may not be the latest and best because Google keeps them in the Play Store and their 30% share of in-app purchases. But these games may have been popular at one point in time, which makes them interesting enough for online game players to still want to play them.