Google is working to make cloud gaming easier to find on its search page. The company hasn’t officially announced the feature publicly, but Ars Technica and The Verge have confirmed that the new Play Now capability appeared to them in separate instances.
Play Now basically adds cloud gaming links to the landing page of the game you’re looking for so you can jump in instantly from the Google Search page. Clicking on the Stadia option should just launch the game, while links from other services will take you to their own web pages. It looks like the feature is just starting to roll out, so don’t worry if you don’t see it pop up yet. It appeared for Gizmodo deputy consumer tech editor Michelle Ehrhardt, but only for Destiny 2. Sorry for my editor, who now has an active Stadia account.
I’ve reached out to Google to learn more about the Play Now feature and to confirm if it’s live. I will update when I get a response.
What you’ll see if you have the Play Now skill available on Google Search. (Screenshot: Michelle Ehrhardt/Gizmodo)
If you have the ability, the Play tab will now appear in desktop browser searches for certain video games. I tried the skill twice on two different google accounts (both times signed in to my main Stadia account) and nothing appeared. But Ars Technica has more screenshots showing what it looks like when the Play Now feature is available.
The screenshots show the main Google page with a popular game written in the search bar. Ars tried to write games like Destiny 2, Control and Fortnite. If you’re streaming, the Now Playing column will appear on the right side, below the main title card. If the game is available to play on competing cloud platforms, such as Amazon Luna or Nvidia GeForce Now, you’ll also see a Play shortcut for those sites.
Even if you don’t have the Play Now tab in your search results, searching for a game on Google will usually show a streaming link on the first page. Usually, a link to Stadia appears, often mixed with links to where to buy the game directly.
The new Play Now feature may be the proof some users need that Stadia isn’t going away, despite what blogs, including my blog, have predicted. I think Stadia will end up like Google’s other pet projects, which often turn into something bigger. It’s not hard to imagine that this plan to launch games instantly is an offshoot of Google’s other instant game projects: remember the ability to stream Batman: Arkham Knight.
for AT&T customers earlier this year? (Now it’s Control.) Who needs Stadia branding when the web browser helps facilitate all of this?
The idea of being able to quickly jump into a game hosted in the cloud has clearly taken off – there are a lot more options than there were just two years ago. But for Google, the goal seems to be to perfect the technology so that it becomes an important part of its most influential real estate on the web: its search engine.