Select Google Users Can Now Play Cloud Games Right From Their Search Results

Google Stadia and other streaming game services are being promoted in a new way, as it looks like searching for certain games presents you with a new button that can boot it up and play instantly, though this isn’t yet available for everyone.

As spotted by Bryant Chappel on Twitter, searching for games that are available on Stadia can now have a “Play” button that when pressed boots you straight into the game. Chappel used Control Ultimate Edition as an example of the feature, getting all the way to the title screen without much problem.

In follow-up tweets, Chappel also found that similar buttons could be found for Amazon Luna and Xbox Cloud Gaming. While the Play button for Stadia games brings you straight into the game, it should be noted that it looks like Luna and Xbox Cloud Gaming games first bring you to the game’s page, before allowing you to actually play the it.

Nvidia GeForce Now is also seemingly presented as an option, but not for all games on the service at the moment. Chappel notes that Fortnite works, but Far Cry 6, which is available on Nvidia’s service, doesn’t currently show the button.

It should also be noted that this feature doesn’t seem to be available in all regions, as Chappel is based in the US. Whereas the feature doesn’t currently seem to appear in the UK, so it’s possible it’s slowly being rolled out.

Last year, Google Stadia’s game studios were shut down, painting a concerning picture of the cloud gaming platform. But a report earlier this year suggested that Google wanted to salvage the technology by using it for new purposes, a recent example of that being the Resident Evil Village demo that is playable via browser.