to test a game, versions soon playable online without downloading?

The start-ups PlayRuo and Shadow are looking for a new method of promotion to introduce new products in video games. They would like people to be able to try any game very easily to get their own idea, a bit like we do today on streaming platforms, by scanning the main scenes of a film. They have therefore developed a technology which allows you to launch a trial version of a game, and to play it instantly, just by clicking on a link on a web page. It’s free, there’s nothing to download, nothing to install. We click and play… But for 15 minutes maximum.

In principle, you need a computer or console to run a video game. In fact, in this test version, the game runs fine on a computer or console, and the Internet only displays the game video and returns the controller commands. This is what we call “cloud gaming”. And that’s why it’s instantaneous.

Give more visibility to low-budget games

The challenge now will be to convince publishers to provide access to their games in this way, because they are the ones paying. They could add a button “click here to play” at the end of a trailer, for example, distill links on social networks or on discussion forums. The idea is to encourage people to try the games whenever possible. This could give more visibility to low-budget productions, as well as those that do not appear in the algorithms of online stores.

As this is only the beginning, only two games are playable this way: Cryptical Path and Crown Wars. For now, the technology only works with PC games. But it is ready to be available on console and mobile games. It’s therefore a whole new way of promoting video games. We’ll see if it ends up being adopted by the industry.