After conducting limited trials in Canada and the United Kingdom, Netflix is now starting to test its cloud gaming service in the United States. The streamer has acquired gaming studios and licensed games from individual developers as part of the service, an expansion of the company’s mobile gaming activities that started in 2021. The goal is to make gaming another essential part of its business. Netflix customers can now play its games on smart TVs and TV-connected gadgets like Fire TV, Chromecast, Roku, and others by utilizing their smartphones as the gaming controller, thanks to the company’s cloud gaming service.
When Netflix Vice President of Games Mike Verdu informed the audience at TechCrunch Disrupt that the business was investigating such a service, the firm first hinted at its intentions to enter the cloud gaming market last fall. In describing how the service fits into the more significant gaming sector, Verdu had said Netflix viewed gaming as “a value add.”
He clarified that we’re not asking you to subscribe as a replacement for a console. “The business concept is very different. According to Verdu, the goal is to become a natural method to play games wherever you are.
With this move, Netflix will compete with other cloud gaming services, including PlayStation Plus, Xbox Cloud Gaming from Microsoft, Nvidia GeForce Now, and Amazon Luna. Nevertheless, in the context of Netflix, a significant portion of their game catalog is directly linked to their most popular series and is included in a Netflix subscription without extra charges. According to The Wall Street Journal, the company is presently working on creating video games inspired by a diverse range of television programs, including titles like “Squid Game,” “Wednesday,” and “Black Mirror.” Additionally, there are rumors of an impending release of a game based on “Grand Theft Auto” by Take-Two Interactive through a licensing agreement.
The company has also been relatively acquisitive in growing its gaming division, purchasing studios like Boss Fight Entertainment, Night School Studio, and Finland’s Next Games in addition to establishing its internal game development studios, including one in Helsinki run by a former Zynga GM and another in Southern California run by former Blizzard Entertainment executive Chacko Sonny, the executive producer on “Overwatch.”
Netflix has long made it clear that while it started with a mobile-first approach, this was only the beginning of its trials. The following is cloud gaming and its IP.
However, some question if gaming makes sense for the streamer given that its closest rivals for users’ attention spans, aside from other media businesses, are applications like TikTok and YouTube. According to investment firm Piper Sandler in a CNBC report, YouTube has recently surpassed Netflix as the most popular video source for American youths.
The company aims to expand the number of devices that can play its games with the debut of its game streaming service on TVs. The test includes the arcade game Molehew’s Mining Adventure and “Oxenfree” from Night School company, the first game company the streamer bought in 2021.
Games can be played on Roku devices and TVs, Samsung Smart TVs, LG TVs, Nvidia Shield TV, Amazon Fire TV streaming media players, Chromecast with Google TV, Walmart ONN, and Nvidia Shield TV. More gadgets would eventually be supported, according to the business.
Members use a specific app on their mobile phones to play the games on TVs. Before the initial public tests began in August of this year, TechCrunch had already reported on the release of Netflix’s iPhone game controller software. Games may also be played on Macs and PCs with a keyboard and mouse.
During the trials, Netflix hopes to evaluate its game-streaming technology and seek to enhance the user experience as the problems are expanded to the United States.
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