Google Search’s newest feature lets players launch games straight from search results. On desktop and mobile, the “Play Now” option will appear for games that are on a supported cloud gaming service.
No console 🎮? No problem. Now you can search and launch video games in the cloud instantly with Google. ☁️ Available in the U.S., in English for mobile and desktop. pic.twitter.com/Zpj5DVBCkD
— Google (@Google) December 13, 2022
Through our own testing today, this option was showing up for games like Halo Infinite that are on Xbox Game Pass, as well as titles like Control: Ultimate Edition that are only on Amazon Luna. If a game happens to be on both, like Windjammers 2, then the option to play the game on either service will show up.
On desktop, the Play Now section appears right under the game title and featured images on the right side of the search results. On mobile, we had to scroll past the People also ask section. multiple search results, and the People also search for section to find the Play Now option. Clicking on it brought us to each game’s Xbox Game Pass or Amazon Luna page, from which we could boot the game and start playing.
It is a bit of an awkward addition, considering it’s releasing a little too late to benefit Google’s proprietary cloud gaming service. While previous tests for this feature included Google Stadia, that service did not show up for us during our own testing with Stadia-supported games like Doom Eternal. That’s likely because Google announced that it plans to shut Stadia down in January 2023. That is a shame, because a feature like this really would’ve brought a lot more attention to the struggling cloud gaming platform. Although it’s not going to attract people to Google’s own cloud gaming service, it’s still a helpful addition for those searching for games that are included in the Xbox Game Pass or Amazon Luna subscriptions.
According to Google, this feature should now be available to everyone using Google Search on desktop or mobile in the United States.
