As more corporate players look for a share of the games industry’s mighty revenue, YouTube has released new information on its Playables test. The idea, if all goes according to plan, is that people will eventually play games directly on the video platform.

On desktop this will mean playing games on YouTube’s website via browsers, meanwhile mobile implications are that YouTube games will primarily run through the app on iOS and Android.

From watcher to player

Much of this was revealed back in June, but at that time only YouTube employees had access to test the service. Now new details have emerged through YouTube’s updated support service, which lists Playables among its "experiments" with slivers of further information.

Apparently, certain individuals outside of the company’s payroll are now able to try out Playables, provided that they’ve been chosen as part of the experiment. Whether this selection is random or not is currently unclear, but YouTube’s advice is for people to check their home feeds to see whether Playables shows up.

Progress in Playables' games can also be controlled via YouTube History, implying resets will be possible. The breadth of games the service may include when launched in full remains shrouded in mystery for now, but when employees began testing, one of the games available was an arcade-style game called Stack Bounce.

"Playables are games that can be played directly on YouTube on both desktop and mobile devices. If you’re part of this experiment, you’ll see a section on YouTube called “Playables” that will appear alongside other content on the home feed," the update reads.

"We’re testing this with a limited number of users to start. You can view and control your Playables history and saved game progress in YouTube History."

Former PlayStation president Shawn Layden has just this week discussed the idea of big tech players making moves into gaming, and that these "barbarians at the gate" could bring an end to the industry as we know it.