As reported by the Wall Street Journal (paywall), Google is reportedly testing games internally to add to its YouTube app and website; the WSJ cites internal emails discussing the endeavor as evidence.

The WSJ mentions that Google (YouTube's parent company) employees are testing several games, but gives only one detail: "Stack Bounce," similar to Brick Breaker, but perhaps the target is vertical rather than horizontal

The names "Stack Bonce" and "Playables" sound more arcade-y and casual, but the overall nature and scope of this effort is not yet clear: "Stack Bonce" is a "playable game," and "Playables" is a "playable game.

It seems like a hat in a hat, but I don't see much reason for optimism. I watch YouTube to watch video reviews of games I know I like or taste tests of military food, and the broad middle class of video creators who reach thousands to millions of viewers is often underserved by its moderation and monetization.

Summoning Salt, a well-known video game speedrun historian, suffered from Kafkaesque inconsistent moderation decisions in his Mega Man documentary; Salt's videos are often a battle over sparse and fairly PG-13 swearing by the subject, with revenue and tagged with an "age-restricted" tag, which kills algorithmic detection, but an investigation by the YouTubers themselves found videos without age restrictions with far more questionable content; YouTube support acknowledged the "mistake" and rescinded the decision, only to rescind it again a mere week later.

In a recent example, prolific Souls series dataminer Zullie the Witch did not monetize a tribute video to the late Berserk author Kentaro Miura, even though a 2021 cover of the original 1997 song she used wrongfully copyrighted over the Berserk anime music used in her video by someone claiming ownership. Although the video itself was not monetized, the copyright infringement on the channel could have long-term implications for monetization and discoverability.

YouTube's expansion into light arcade games is harmless enough on its own, but the artists and video creators who attracted me to YouTube could have their livelihoods threatened by the platform they are enriching At times, seeing such attempts leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It also seems to symbolize a time when every app and social network is chasing trends and feeling the need to introduce "stories" like Snapchat and short-form portrait-oriented videos like TikTok, while the original core functionality is declining I feel that this is a sign of an era in which the original core functionality is in decline.

This corruption of a now essential platform is not going away either; the WSJ cites declining ad revenue as a potential reason for Playables' attempt, and the harsh realities of technology funding and the CEO's desperate response to Reddit's moderator revolt and recent moments of crisis such as Twitch's lightning-fast 180 on streamers' screen space limitations.

Playables, like Netflix's neglected game library, will likely disappear from YouTube's main platform and become a neglected entity.