Design requirements
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This section covers interactions between Playables and the YouTube user
experience.
1 Aspect ratio and orientation
- Game MUST follow responsive design: be playable in all aspect ratios and
adjust automatically when the viewport changes. Non-exhaustive examples:
9:32, 9:21, 9:16, 3:4, 1:1, 4:3, 16:9, 21:9, 32:9.
- Game SHOULD fill the available viewport. If the game does not fill the
available viewport, the game MUST be centered and include a pillarbox
(left and right empty padding) or letterbox (top and bottom empty padding).
- Game MUST NOT lock device orientation or device posture.
- Game MUST maintain the game state or progress when the window is
resized. We recommend not restarting or refreshing the game unless the user
can quickly resume from the prior state.
Visual examples of these requirements:
2 Interaction methods
- Game MUST support touch input for all interactions.
- Game MUST support mouse input for all interactions.
- Game MUST NOT unintentionally delay or ignore any user input.
- Game MUST NOT have any errors or unexpected behavior for any UI
components.
- Game SHOULD support keyboard input for directional or text input.
- Game SHOULD allow users to close modals or dialogs using the
Esc key.
- Game MUST NOT call
preventDefault() on Esc events.
- Game MAY use haptic feedback where appropriate. If the game includes
haptic feedback, game MUST provide a way to toggle haptic feedback on
and off.
3 Game user interface (UI)
This section covers game user interface (UI) requirements.
3.1 Rendering
- Game MUST render all text and graphics clearly (not blurry, pixelated,
or stretched) across all screen resolutions, aspect ratios, and densities.
Developer MUST provide all required metadata fields when using the
Developer Portal to publish games. Full details about metadata
requirements can be found in the Developer Portal.
Developer MUST NOT include any branding or logos in the thumbnails,
description, or title.
A non-exhaustive list of the types of metadata required are:
- Image thumbnails in several different aspect ratios
- Game description
- Game title
- Game genre
- Publisher / Developer information
5 Completion of content handling
- Game MUST communicate that there is no more content to engage with, such
as after the final level or at the end of game progression.
6 Disallowed elements
This section covers elements that are disallowed in Playables.
6.1 In-game sharing
- Game MUST NOT display in-game sharing prompts.
6.2 External links
- Game MUST NOT display UI or links that take users to external content,
such as other sites or games.
6.3 Additional user agreements
6.4 Elements that create confusion
- Game MUST NOT place icons that are identical to Playables actions in
close proximity to the actual Playables actions, such as the close, mute, or
menu buttons.
- Game MUST NOT have an in-game exit or quit button.
Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Last updated 2025-09-02 UTC.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-09-02 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003ePlayables must be responsive, support touch and mouse input, and maintain game state during window resizing.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eDevelopers must provide specific metadata, including thumbnails, descriptions, and titles with character limits, and adhere to file naming conventions.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003ePlayables must clearly indicate content completion, avoid in-game sharing, external links, additional user agreements, and UI elements that mimic or conflict with platform controls.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eGames should support keyboard input, allow modal closure with the 'Esc' key, and provide a toggle for haptic feedback if included.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eVisual elements like text and graphics must render clearly across all resolutions and aspect ratios, while thumbnails and preview videos should adhere to recommended dimensions and formats.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["Playable games must support all aspect ratios, adjusting automatically to viewport changes, and maintain game state during resizing. They require touch and mouse input, and should support keyboard input. Games must render clearly across all resolutions. Developers must provide multiple thumbnails (1:1, 5:7, 16:9), a 16:9 preview video, a title (50 characters max), a short description (150 characters max), the publisher name, and 1 or 2 genres. Games must indicate completion, disallow in-game sharing, external links, additional user agreements, and confusing UI elements.\n"],null,["This section covers interactions between Playables and the YouTube user\nexperience.\n| **Important:** Translated requirements are provided for reference only. Refer to the [English versions of requirements](/youtube/gaming/playables/certification/requirements?hl=en) for definitive guidance.\n\n1 Aspect ratio and orientation\n\n- Game **MUST** follow responsive design: be playable in all aspect ratios and adjust automatically when the viewport changes. Non-exhaustive examples: 9:32, 9:21, 9:16, 3:4, 1:1, 4:3, 16:9, 21:9, 32:9.\n- Game **SHOULD** fill the available viewport. If the game does not fill the available viewport, the game **MUST** be centered and include a pillarbox (left and right empty padding) or letterbox (top and bottom empty padding).\n- Game **MUST NOT** lock device orientation or device posture.\n- Game **MUST** maintain the game state or progress when the window is resized. We recommend not restarting or refreshing the game unless the user can quickly resume from the prior state.\n\nVisual examples of these requirements:\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\n2 Interaction methods\n\n- Game **MUST** support touch input for all interactions.\n- Game **MUST** support mouse input for all interactions.\n- Game **MUST NOT** unintentionally delay or ignore any user input.\n- Game **MUST NOT** have any errors or unexpected behavior for any UI components.\n- Game **SHOULD** support keyboard input for directional or text input.\n- Game **SHOULD** allow users to close modals or dialogs using the \u003ckbd\u003eEsc\u003c/kbd\u003e key.\n- Game **MUST NOT** call `preventDefault()` on \u003ckbd\u003eEsc\u003c/kbd\u003e events.\n- Game **MAY** use haptic feedback where appropriate. If the game includes haptic feedback, game **MUST** provide a way to toggle haptic feedback on and off.\n\n3 Game user interface (UI)\n\nThis section covers game user interface (UI) requirements.\n\n3.1 Rendering\n\n- Game **MUST** render all text and graphics clearly (not blurry, pixelated, or stretched) across all screen resolutions, aspect ratios, and densities.\n\n4 Metadata\n\nDeveloper **MUST** provide all required metadata fields when using the\n[Developer Portal](/youtube/gaming/playables/developer_portal) to publish games. Full details about metadata\nrequirements can be found in the [Developer Portal](/youtube/gaming/playables/developer_portal).\n\nDeveloper **MUST NOT** include any branding or logos in the thumbnails,\ndescription, or title.\n\nA non-exhaustive list of the types of metadata required are:\n\n- Image thumbnails in several different aspect ratios\n- Game description\n- Game title\n- Game genre\n- Publisher / Developer information\n\n5 Completion of content handling\n\n- Game **MUST** communicate that there is no more content to engage with, such as after the final level or at the end of game progression.\n\n6 Disallowed elements\n\nThis section covers elements that are disallowed in Playables.\n\n6.1 In-game sharing\n\n- Game **MUST NOT** display in-game sharing prompts.\n\n6.2 External links\n\n- Game **MUST NOT** display UI or links that take users to external content, such as other sites or games.\n\n6.3 Additional user agreements\n\n- Game **MUST NOT** display an additional user agreement. Users agree to relevant YouTube [policies](https://www.youtube.com/howyoutubeworks/policies/overview/), [terms](https://www.youtube.com/t/terms), and [privacy\n details](https://www.youtube.com/t/privacy).\n\n6.4 Elements that create confusion\n\n- Game **MUST NOT** place icons that are identical to Playables actions in close proximity to the actual Playables actions, such as the close, mute, or menu buttons.\n- Game **MUST NOT** have an in-game exit or quit button.\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e"]]
