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The cloud gaming market continues to grow thanks to Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Nvidia, but it looks like a new entry is on the way. According to a new report, Netflix intends to add games to its streaming catalog in the not-so-distant future, but the expansion will start with games on mobile smartphones.
Update 7/20: Netflix has confirmed its gaming plans, making it clear that cloud gaming won’t be the goal at least to begin with.
Bloomberg reports that Netflix is looking to start making video games playable through its streaming platform “by next year” with the games appearing right next to the TV shows and movies already available to Netflix subscribers. Apparently, Netflix has no plans to charge its customers for this content.
The idea is to bring video games to Netflix’s streaming platform by next year, according to a person familiar with the situation. The games will appear alongside current tariffs as a new genre of programming – similar to what Netflix has done with documentaries or special stand-ups.
To get things going, Netflix hired Mike Verdu, a former employee of Electronic Arts and Facebook. At the latter, Verdu was a vice president responsible for working with game developers to bring games and other content to Oculus VR headsets owned by Facebook. At EA, Verdu has played a role with titles such as Sims, Star Wars, and Plants vs. Zombies. Netflix’s games division will be further developed “in the coming months” with some roles announced on the company’s website.
Apparently, some files buried in the Netflix app for iOS also hinted at this upcoming offering. Like our colleagues from 9to5Mac Note that this could present a challenge for the streaming giant when it comes to Apple’s App Store, which has so far rejected cloud gaming offerings from Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Nvidia.
At this point, it is not yet clear which games would be available through Netflix or on which devices, but “typical Netflix fashion” the library may start with “just a few games”.
Update 7/20: Netflix has just confirmed in a letter to investors (via The edge) that it will actually add games to its library, but that the expansion will not start with cloud gaming. On the contrary, Netflix will begin its journey with mobile games for smartphones and tablets. The company explains:
The games will be included in members’ Netflix subscription at no additional cost similar to movies and series. Initially, we will mainly focus on games for mobile devices. We are more excited than ever with our film and TV series offering and expect a long track of increasing investment and growth in all of our existing content categories, but since we are nearly a decade into our push in the original lineup, we think time is right to learn more about the value our members place on games.
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