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YouTube 'Playables' games roll out to some Premium subscribers
If you've binged all the episodes of your favorite YouTube channel, you could soon have something to do on the site besides watching videos -- play games.
Starting today, as part of Playables on YouTube, the company is rolling out more than 35 mini games that can be played directly in the browser. There's nothing to download, and the HTML5 games can be played on the Android, iOS, and desktop version of the app.
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For now, though, access seems to be exclusive to "a limited number" of YouTube Premium subscribers (currently $13.99 a month). If you're among the chosen, you should see a new "Playables" section on your YouTube home page or a link in the "Explore" menu.
A quick look at the "popular" section of the app showed games like Farm Land, Scooter Xtreme, Merge Pirates, Farm Land, Words of Wonder, Color Burst, Stack Bounce, State.io, 8 Ball Billiards, Stack Bounce, Magic Cat Academy, Rainy Boba Cafe, and Brain Out. It's worth noting that most of these titles aren't new and are available in other places.
If you've ever visited Google Gamesnacks, the free HTML gaming site, a lot of those titles will be familiar. But there are a few -- Angry Birds Showdown, for example -- that appear to be exclusive to YouTube.
While gaming content is a large part of what makes YouTube popular, this feature isn't necessarily intended for that audience. It's just one more perk for being a paid subscriber. It does, however, come just after Netflix also dipped its toes into gaming.
Also: YouTube Premium adds enhanced 1080p video, SharePlay, and queuing for iPhone users
The company testing new features on Premium members first is nothing new. Just last month, the company rolled out a new subscriber-only AI-powered feature that lets users ask questions about the videos they're watching. And earlier this year, Premium subscribers got increased video quality for iOS.
At almost $15 a month, it's tough to picture people signing up for YouTube Premium solely for Playables, especially since most of the games are available elsewhere. But, this is a nice perk for subscribers.