YouTube has launched its new “Playables” in-app gaming feature to more users in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.
The Playables feature allows users to play over 75 basic mobile games directly within the YouTube app. Some of the games available include Angry Birds Showdown, Words of Wonders, Cut the Rope, Tomb of the Mask, and Trivia Crack.
YouTube is hoping that the Playables feature will help keep users engaged on the platform for longer, as well as expand its offering beyond just video content.
Many of YouTube’s most popular creators have links to the gaming community, and gaming content generated over 4 billion hours of watch time on the platform in 2022. As such, the expansion into direct in-app gaming could have strong appeal for YouTube’s existing user base.
However, in-stream games have had a mixed history on other platforms, with Netflix and Meta’s gaming features failing to see significant user engagement.
The challenge for YouTube will be getting users to change their habitual behavior of using the app primarily for video content. Though the platform has been experimenting with more interactive elements, like community posts, to try and shift user behaviors.
Users who are part of the Playables roll-out will see a new “Playables” menu in the Explore section of the app, as well as potentially seeing games featured in their Home feed, search results, and other areas of the platform.
