Up Next for Chromecast: More Apps — and Maybe Games, Too

Several additional services are on the way beyond the handful that Google announced last week.

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I’ve been enjoying Google’s Chromecast since last week, but as I wrote after my initial hands-on time, the video-casting experience isn’t nearly as smooth on laptops as it is on phones and tablets. Being able to mirror any browser tab is a decent fallback, but the $35 device works best when you’re sending music and video to your television via smartphone or tablet.

So I’m glad to hear that the interest in Chromecast is already getting lots of attention from app makers and streaming media services. For now, the only apps you can control by phone or tablet are Netflix, YouTube and Google Play Music/Video, but several additional services are on the way beyond the handful that Google announced last week.

Here’s the rundown of apps that will support Chromecast in the future:

  • Vimeo: Confirmed by GigaOM
  • Redbox Instant: Also confirmed by GigaOM
  • Twitch.tv: Confirmed by TIME with Twitch’s PR department.
  • Songza: Confirmed on Twitter
  • Vevo: Confirmed by Yahoo Finance
  • Pandora: Announced by Google last week
  • AOL On: Announced last week
  • Revision 3: Announced last week
songzachromecast

Songza

Those are just the official confirmed apps, but several other companies are also investigating Chromecast support, or are rumored to be working on it:

  • HBO Go: Mentioned in Chromecast configuration files; HBO Go is “actively exploring supporting Chromecast,” according to Yahoo Finance
  • Qello: Mentioned in Chromecast configuration files
  • Rdio: Looking into it, according to an employee on Rdio’s support forum
  • Hulu: An “optimized” experience is coming, All Things D reports. Hulu and Google are working together on it, an unnamed source told Yahoo Finance.
  • Plex: Company is “actively investigating and optimistic,” according to GigaOM.

Even with all those apps on board, there will still be plenty of gaps. I’d like to see MLB.tv support in particular, and Spotify users have turned Chromecast support into a highly-requested feature, but neither company has commented on its plans so far.

The above lists are just what we know of for major streaming media services. But I’m just as interested to see what smaller developers come up with.

Koushik Dutta, for instance, has come up with a way to send any photo or video from your phone’s gallery to the television using the built-in Share button. He’s looking into casting music and entire playlists as well.

Another developer has managed to get a working Game Boy emulator (video below) running through Chromecast, with the action controlled by laptop arrow keys or an Xbox 360 controller. It’s just a simple JavaScript-based game, but it makes me wonder if more advanced web-based games, such as Angry Birds, might eventually be able to run through Chromecast.

The question for all of these apps, of course, is timing. The development kit for Chromecast is currently in beta, and individual developers aren’t allowed to distribute their apps right now. I wouldn’t be surprised if certain media companies were allowed to launch their apps sooner, but Google isn’t providing any kind of timeline for additional apps.

Seeing as Chromecast is sold out on Amazon and Best Buy, and on a three- to four-week shipping delay through Google Play, people are going to have to wait one way or another.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKJ8iX45cGY]