If you open Netflix on mobile, it's pretty hard to miss the games they offer as they are situated at the beginning of the home screen. The streaming service intends to make big waves in the gaming market, and it could soon release more titles for TV and PC as well.
Netflix's Gaming Business
The streaming giant is trying its hand at cloud gaming, and while they're at it, plans to do so for other gaming devices too. The company is already offering games for TV and PC, although it's still in its test phase and only two titles are available for testing.
However, Netflix will not be stopping there. Head of External Games Leanne Loombe says that they "feel like there is a real big opportunity with cloud to create a certain type of game experience that really is tailored to Netflix on TV."
That means that Netflix may soon offer video games that are exclusive to certain platforms like TVs or PCs. It makes sense as mobile games are light enough to be played on PC, but mobile usually doesn't have good enough hardware to handle PC games.
Loombe also stated that the games will be different creatively to the mobile games that Netflix makes. While some titles will be released for all mentioned platforms through the cloud, some will serve as a "really tailored experience" for certain devices.
It's been a while since news of Netflix venturing into the gaming industry emerged. Other than its plans to set up an AAA studio, it already hired PC game developers back in 2022, according to The Verge. That could only mean that they already have PC game plans in the future.
Once Netflix does release platform-exclusive titles, the streaming service will alter its algorithm so that users can only see suggestions that the device they're using can run, which means that PC games won't appear on your phone and vice versa.
"I think that's going to really help from a discoverability perspective because everybody's experience is then tailored and we don't have to worry too much about trying to explain every single detail around which games are where and what platform you can play on," said Loombe.
The company has not disclosed specific numbers when it comes to the activity in its gaming department, but it did say that the company was satisfied with how many members are playing games. "The trajectory that we're seeing is something that we're very happy about."
iPhones as Controllers
Mobile and PC gaming makes sense, but it might be a little hard to play on the TV using a remote control. Usually, when gamers use the TV, it is accompanied by a console or it is connected to a PC. Netflix might be planning to create games that can use smartphones as controllers.
As reported by Digital Trends, this is specifically iPhones. The iOS Netflix app would display a prompt whenever the TV needs a controller to play Netflix games. So far, there's still no news on whether this function is compatible with Android.
