Just like nobody asked for, YouTube is reportedly testing in-app and in-site gaming

pcgamer.com:

As reported by The Wall Street Journal (users may encounter a paywall), Google is reportedly internally testing games to be added to the YouTube app and website. The WSJ cites an internal email discussing the endeavor as proof.

The WSJ mentions multiple games being available for testing by Google (YouTube's parent company) employees, but only describes one in detail: «Stack Bounce.» It sounds like Brick Breaker, but I guess with a vertically oriented target instead of horizontal. Stack Bonce and the «Playables» name sound like a more arcadey, casual affair, but it's not clear yet what the overall character or extent of the initiative is.

I don't see much reason to be optimistic about it though, it feels like a hat on a hat. I go to YouTube to watch video reviews of games I already know I'll like or taste tests of military rations, and the broad middle class of video creators who get anywhere from thousands to the low millions of viewers are often underserved by its moderation and monetization.

Well-liked videogame speedrun historian Summoning Salt suffered a series of Kafkaesque, contradictory moderation decisions on a Mega Man documentary. Salt's video was slapped with a revenue and algorithmic discovery-killing «age-restricted» tag over some sparse, pretty PG-13 swearing by his subjects, while an investigation by the YouTuber himself turned up non-age-restricted videos with far more questionable content. YouTube support admitted a «mistake» and reversed the decision, only to have it reversed back just a week later.

In another recent example, prolific Souls series dataminer Zullie the Witch had an unmonetized tribute video to late Berserk creator Kentaro Miura fraudulently copyright striked over music from the Berserk