Game on YouTube: First premium accounts are allowed to test
The time has come: YouTube is launching the test phase for "playables", i.e. playable content. Find out what's behind it here.
If you have subscribed to YouTube's premium service, you may now be able to use the platform as a gaming platform on a trial basis. YouTube had already announced in September that playable content could soon be available on the platform. In the meantime, some YouTube Premium subscribers have received a notification that they can now test "playables". YouTube has not yet provided any official information on this.
"Playables" will initially only be tested until 28 March 2024 and not every Premium account will be able to take part. If you subscribe to YouTube Premium, you can check at youtube.com/new to see if you are one of the selected test users.
Gaming videos are an important area for YouTube. Until now, however, you could only watch videos or live streams of games and not actively play them yourself.
"Playables" in the test period: 15 typical mobile games
The list of currently available "Playables" includes 15 rather simple games, such as crossword puzzles, solitaire, billiards and "Angry Birds Showdown". You should be able to play them directly from the YouTube app on your Apple or Android smartphone and on your desktop without downloading them.
The "Playables" are an initiative to expand YouTube as an entertainment platform. YouTube already has special entertainment areas for music, films & series and podcasts, for example. It is not yet known what will happen after the test period and whether more complex game titles will then also be available.
In supplying games, YouTube is following in the footsteps of streaming provider Netflix, which has been offering mobile games for two years now. More than 50 games are currently available on Netflix, including "Farming Simulator 23", "Lego Legacy" and "Stranger Things: 1984". This means that Netflix offers games for free that would otherwise be worth a few francs or euros in the respective app store, on Steam or Switch.
What else is there for the Premium subscription?
Recently, YouTube had repeatedly referred to its premium service because many users were annoyed by the adverts on the platform. Anyone who has AdBlocker active to block out unwanted adverts may now see a message that AdBlockers are not permitted on the platform instead of the desired video. Those who upload videos will also have fewer setting options with regard to advertising in future, meaning that the audience will often end up seeing more adverts.
YouTube Premium removes the unpopular adverts. Perhaps YouTube wants to provide an additional argument in favour of Premium with the "Playables" alongside the freedom from advertising and other small improvements.
What do you think about YouTube becoming a gaming platform?
Cover image: Dean Drobot/Shutterstock
Feels just as comfortable in front of a gaming PC as she does in a hammock in the garden. Likes the Roman Empire, container ships and science fiction books. Focuses mostly on unearthing news stories about IT and smart products.