Big Netflix gaming push
Netflix plans on making more mobile games from its hit shows, including Squid Game and Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The company currently offers 70 games on its platform and plans to expand its catalogue towards the end of 2023.
It will continue to license non-show-related games like Classic Solitaire.
Mobile gaming isn’t new to Netflix. The company first launched games for Android and iOS devices in November 2021.
Currently, the Netflix app prompts users to download and try games like Exploding Kittens: The Game or Ghost Detective through their phone’s app store, but the company plans to let customers stream games directly to their TVs and computers.
In November 2022, a job listing for a director to lead work in PC game development revealed the company’s plan to expand its gaming offering to PCs.
According to the job post, the game director will lead work on a “brand-new AAA PC game”, and the ideal candidate will have experience in first- and third-person shooters, continuously evolving “live service” games, and rapid prototyping in Unreal Engine.
They should also have at least ten years of game design experience as a Game Director, Creative Director, or in a similar role.
In August 2023, the company announced that it was expanding the availability of its games to more devices, including TVs and computers.
It selected a small number of Netflix users in the UK and Canada for beta testing. However, the test is quite limited, with only two games available to play from the get-go — Oxenfree and Molehew’s Mining Adventure.
“Today, we’re taking the first step in making games playable on every device where our members enjoy Netflix,” said Mike Verdu, Netflix’s vice president of games.
Select Fire TV, Chromecast with Google TV, LG TV, Nvidia Shield TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Walmart ONN users have been chosen for the beta testing phase.
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