Edgar Cervantes/Android Authority
long story short
- YouTube Playables will be closed on Thursday, March 28th.
- This isn’t surprising, as YouTube confirmed at the time of the feature’s launch that the feature would be available until March 28.
- Playables allows users to (surprisingly) play a variety of simple games via streaming on YouTube.
YouTube launched Playables late last year to test users’ ability to play simple games on the video streaming platform. Now, it turns out that Playables will be discontinuing the service in a few days.
YouTube Playables will “disappear” on March 28, according to the platform’s experiments page. Advanced users can access the feature via Android, iOS, and the web.
Hadlee Simons / Android Authority
This date is not new, though, as March 28 was also listed last year. So this seems less like a case of the playable game being phased out due to low popularity/engagement, and more like the intended end of the experiment. Still, we asked if YouTube Playable is being canceled or if this is a prelude to a full-scale return. We will update this article if/when the company gets back to us.
Regardless, Playables is a less ambitious way to play games than Google’s shuttered Stadia business. Unlike Stadia, Playables focuses on simple games like Angry Birds, pool, crossword puzzles, and card games.