Bloomberg reports that Netflix is planning to add video games to its streaming service within the next year, with the company bringing a former EA and Facebook (Oculus) executive on board to help. Verdu had a hand in several mobile titles from Electronic Arts in the past, and most recently has been working in developer relations for Facebook—specifically with the Oculus VR team. Netflix is no stranger to video games. The streaming service has played host to several TV series based on licensed video games, and had a video game made from its original series Stranger Things. The company even has interactive, choose-your-own-adventure TV specials available, such as the “Bandersnatch” episode of Black Mirror, which blurs the lines between games and film. What Netflix plans to do with video game streaming is still unknown, however. While it’s clear that the intention is to allow subscribers to stream games (at no additional cost, according to Bloomberg’s source) there’s no mention of which games. Is Netflix going to produce its own series of games, specifically for the platform? Will it acquire the rights to the games on which many of its popular TV shows are based (i.e. The Witcher, Castlevania, etc.)? Will the video game streaming be more like Microsoft’s Game Pass or Sony’s PS Now games-on-demand services that include a wider variety of titles? It’s also unclear whether video game streaming will be available on all Netflix platforms or just select ones. It could, theoretically, work on mobile devices, video game consoles using the Netflix app, and dedicated streaming devices, but the details are too thin to be sure at this time.
