YouTube’s “app store” for games is rolling out more widely. The company announced Tuesday that its collection of lightweight, free games dubbed “Playables” will soon begin appearing in the YouTube app for all users, in addition to the YouTube home page. Previously, the games were made available to select users for testing purposes before coming to YouTube Premium subscribers last November.
Because they don’t monetize through paid downloads or in-app purchases, YouTube Playables don’t directly challenge the App Store model or violate Apple’s rules. However, they compete with free games in the App Store, which are often downloaded by casual gamers and generate revenue through advertising. As the search giant itself focuses on integrating AI, questions are being raised about the technology’s impact on the cash cow of its advertising business, due to sponsored links popping up above the search results. Free games on YouTube, in theory, could become another place to show ads later. For the moment, Google has not signaled its intention to monetize its Playables.
Games could, however, distract YouTube users between their browsing and watching sessions, and help them stay engaged with the YouTube app.
Playables’ lineup includes a handful of more popular titles like Angry Birds Showdown, Words of Wonders, Cut the Rope, Tomb of the Mask, and Trivia Crack, among others. It also includes titles like Stack Bounce, a game offered by Google on its HTML mini-games service, and GameSnacks, developed from its internal incubator, Area 120. With GameSnacks, the goal was to offer games to users emerging markets. – a place where Android dominates.
Today, there are more than 75 mini-games in the Playables catalog, Google says. Players who use this feature will be able to save their progress in the game and track their all-time high scores. Not everyone will see the Playables right away, but the feature should finish rolling out in the coming weeks.
YouTube isn’t the only tech giant looking to expand into gaming. Netflix has grown its own game catalog through acquisitions, licensing deals, and in-house game development. Meanwhile, Fortnite maker Epic Games is looking to take advantage of new European regulations to bring its games store to European users. Elsewhere, other unexpected companies are also getting into gaming, most recently LinkedIn.
These metrics highlight how companies are using games to circumvent App Store commissions while improving their own bottom lines. Although Netflix’s games are available on the App Store, they require a Netflix subscription – purchased through its website – to access.
techcrunch
