YouTube Updates: Playable Multitasking and 3-Minute Shorts!

First YouTube Updates of 2025: Playables, Highlights, and Longer Shorts

YouTube has kicked off 2025 with a series of updates and experiments designed to change how users interact with content and how Creators produce it. From introducing multitasking capabilities for gamers to expanding the limits of short-form video, these changes signal a shift toward more flexible viewing and creation workflows.

Playables Multitasking Arrives in the US

One of the most notable additions is the rollout of Playables Multitasking, currently available in the United States. To understand this feature, it is first necessary to define YouTube Playables: these are lightweight, smartphone-optimized games that can be played directly within the YouTube app without requiring external downloads.

The new multitasking functionality takes this a step further by allowing users to run videos simultaneously while they play. For example, a user might encounter “Subway Surfers” in their Shorts feed but can now keep the game active while a regular video plays on top of it.

Implications for Watch Time and Engagement

For Creators, this feature introduces an interesting variable regarding audience retention. While multitasking allows users to stay within the YouTube ecosystem longer, there is a question as to whether this will actually increase average watch time or if the gaming element will act as a distraction, pulling attention away from the video content itself. As this feature rolls out—and eventually makes its way to other regions like Germany—it will be important to monitor how these “distracted” viewing habits affect engagement metrics.

Experimenting with the Video Highlights Tool

YouTube is also testing a new “Video Highlights Tool,” which is currently appearing for some Creators within YouTube Studio on desktop and the YouTube Editor.

Traditionally, the editor has allowed Creators to extract specific segments from their existing uploads. The Video Highlights Tool is intended to revamp this process, specifically enabling the publication of new videos in a 16:9 aspect ratio (widescreen).

Widescreen Highlights vs. Shorts

It is important to distinguish this tool from the existing Remix functions found on mobile devices. While the Remix tool is designed to turn long-form content into vertical Shorts, the Video Highlights Tool focuses on creating shorter, focused widescreen videos. This provides a new way to repurpose long-form archives into concise, high-quality highlights without needing to move the footage into external editing software.

If you are a Creator, you can check if you have been granted access by navigating to the video editor tool in YouTube Studio and looking for a button labeled “Create Video Highlight.”

The Era of 3-Minute Shorts

Perhaps the most significant change for mobile content creators is the update to the maximum length of Shorts. After various stages of testing—and discussions over whether to call them “long Shorts”—the platform has moved into the final phase of implementing 3-minute Shorts.

The Shorts Creation Tools within the YouTube app now officially support this extended duration. This means that the previous 60-second limit has been tripled, allowing for videos up to 180 seconds in length.

What This Means for Content Strategy

This extension significantly alters the creative possibilities for YouTube Shorts. A three-minute window allows Creators to:

• Provide more detailed tutorials that were previously too long for the 60-second format.
• Develop more complex storytelling arcs within a single Short.
• Bridge the gap between “snackable” short-form content and traditional long-form videos.

By expanding the time limit, YouTube is giving Creators more breathing room to deliver value without forcing them to split a single thought across multiple parts or move the content into a standard video upload.

Looking Ahead

These updates reflect a broader trend of blurring the lines between different types of media—gaming and watching, short-form and long-form, and editing and publishing. Whether it is through the multitasking capabilities of Playables or the expanded duration of Shorts, the platform is moving toward a more versatile user experience.

As these features move from experimental phases to global rollouts, Creators should keep an eye on their YouTube Studio dashboards to see when these tools become available in their specific regions.

Original transcript

Transcript

Happy New Year! YouTube has released the first updates of 2025 and we’re here to bring them straight to you. Let’s start with a quick overview: YouTube Playables Multitasking has been rolled out in the US. As a reminder, YouTube Playables allows you to play small smartphone games within the YouTube app, and with Playables Multitasking, you can now also run videos alongside the game. This means we’re not only seeing Subway Surfers in the Shorts feed but also Subway Surfers with a regular video playing on top, and you can still keep playing Subway Surfers. I’m curious to see if this increases average watch time as people are distracted, or how it develops. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments! We’ll have to wait and see when this feature comes to Germany.

Next up, a little experiment: The so-called Video Highlights Tool is currently being tested on YouTube Studio for desktop and the YouTube Editor. When you open a video, you normally have the editor where you could previously extract specific segments. This is set to be revamped with the new Video Highlights Tool, allowing for new 16:9 aspect ratio (widescreen) videos to be published, not as Shorts since you have the Remix function on your phone for those. If you’re one of the Creators already granted access, you’ll find a button labeled “Create Video Highlight” in the video editor tool. As soon as we have more info or video material from this test, we’ll make sure to update you here on the channel.

Lastly, a brief update on what we’re calling 3-minute Shorts (I think that’s the best term we can agree on instead of “long Shorts” and such): The 3-minute Shorts have entered their final phase, and the Shorts Creation Tools in the YouTube app now support three-minute Shorts as well. This means Shorts are no longer limited to 60 seconds but can now be up to 180 seconds. I think we can all work with that.

If you have any questions about these topics, feel free to drop them in the comments. We’re also collecting questions for our Q&A livestream, which will likely take place next week as we still need to gather more questions and I’m waiting on feedback from the holiday season.

If you don’t want to miss any YouTube updates, make sure to subscribe to us! See you next week, until then stay safe and keep pushing!

Confused about YouTube's latest changes? From Playables Multitasking to 3-minute Shorts, stay informed with our concise breakdown. For more insights and tips, check out our YouTube Tips & Tricks in English, or contact our expert below.