Google is embedding cloud gaming right into its search results

techradar.com:

 It seems Google is testing a that lets you launch games from cloud streaming services (such as Google Stadia) with a single click from your search results.

As spotted by Bryant Chappel (via The Verge), if you search for a game that's available on a streaming service, you'll get a little Play button – click on that, and the title will launch on the relevant cloud gaming platform, right inside your browser.

Google does something similar with movies and TV shows in search: if there's a match on a streaming platform (like Netflix or Disney Plus), you'll see links to launch the content alongside the regular list of results.

It looks like the Google search engine has a new update for cloud gaming platforms!!!When searching for a game players can now launch a game directly from the search results utilizing @GoogleStadia. pic.twitter.com/xblOsBpF6OAugust 11, 2022

At the time of writing, Google hasn't officially commented on this trial, so it's possibly still in the testing stage and may not be appearing for everyone. It does appear to be available on both the desktop and mobile versions of the Google homepage, for those who have it.

As you would hope, it's not just Google Stadia that matches are shown for. The Play button also appears if games are on Amazon Luna, Nvidia GeForce Now and Xbox Cloud Gaming — showing that perhaps that cloud gaming is more advanced, with more platforms people are signed into, than you might have imagined.

Xbox Cloud Gaming (xCloud) games can also now be launched directly via the Google search results page. pic.twitter.com/LeYbBk7SFHAugust 11, 2022

Based on what people have been able to test so far, it's not quite a frictionless experience for all games on all streaming platforms (if you’re not signed in