Google Testing Feature to Launch Cloud Games From Search Results

According to The Verge, Google is currently testing a new feature for its search engine that lets users launch games on cloud streaming platforms like its own Stadia service, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and Nvidia’s GeForce Now directly from search results. It even works with Amazon’s Luna service.

Whenever a user searches Google for a game that’s available on a supported game streaming service, they’ll see a “Play” button that will instantly launch the game on that service directly from the search result.

Only some users are seeing the option at the time of writing, and it was first pointed out by cloud gaming journalist Bryant Chappel (@BryantChappel).

As demonstrated by Chappel in a series of tweets, the feature is pretty quick and seamless. Of course, you’ll need to have an account on one of the available game streaming services to actually launch and play a game.

Users who don’t have an account or aren’t logged in are redirected to a signup page for the game streaming service when they click on “Play.” The feature does not work with all titles as of yet.

Cloud gaming has seen a massive boom in recent months. For gamers, anything that reduces the number of clicks to launching a game they want to play is a step in the right direction.

It’s unclear when (or if) Google plans to roll out this feature to all users. Some users who had the feature on their Google accounts are seeing it disappear and reappear, so the company is evidently still tinkering with it.

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