YouTube tests multiplayer mode for select mini-games
YouTube has been experimenting with mini-games, called Playables, on its app and website for about a year now. After opening up access to more users earlier this year, the platform is now kicking things up a notch by experimenting with multiplayer mini-games.
YouTube is testing multiplayer mini-games as part of its Playables collection – lightweight, free games you can play instantly right on the platform. At the moment, multiplayer mode is available for Ludo Club and Magic Tiles 3.
Ludo Club brings the classic board game Ludo to life online, letting you compete with friends or players from around the globe. You can tweak the game's settings to match your style and even chat with other participants during gameplay. Magic Tiles 3 is a hit music game that challenges you to tap falling black tiles in sync with a song's rhythm, creating the feel of playing a piano.
YouTube has been steadily building up its Playables library, now offering over 130 games across categories like Action, Arcade, Brain & Puzzle, Trivia & Word, Racing, Simulation, and Sports.
Speaking of Google, the company has been busy rolling out other updates, too. The Play Store is getting a trending searches section, Google Chat is about to introduce pinned messages and files, and – because we just can't escape AI – Google Photos now offers an AI-driven yearly "Recap" feature to highlight your best moments from 2024.
YouTube is testing multiplayer mini-games as part of its Playables collection – lightweight, free games you can play instantly right on the platform. At the moment, multiplayer mode is available for Ludo Club and Magic Tiles 3.
We're beginning to test a new multiplayer feature for a few select games on YouTube Playables. Multiplayer on Playables lets you play games in real-time with other users.
– YouTube, 2024
Introduced last year, Playables offers fun mini-games. | Image credit – YouTube
Honestly, I think features like Playables are a great addition to popular apps like YouTube. The games are pretty fun, and hopefully, YouTube will expand this feature (for now, it is limited to the US, UK, Canada and Australia) so all its billions of users can try it. Plus, isn't it nice to see something new that isn't AI-related? Especially when we're talking about Google products, where AI seems to be in everything lately.
Speaking of Google, the company has been busy rolling out other updates, too. The Play Store is getting a trending searches section, Google Chat is about to introduce pinned messages and files, and – because we just can't escape AI – Google Photos now offers an AI-driven yearly "Recap" feature to highlight your best moments from 2024.
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