According to a Bloomberg report, Netflix is proposing to offer video games as a part of its monthly subscription service, and for no extra cost.
Netflix, the incredibly popular streaming platform, has apparently begun looking into adding video games to its platform. According to the Bloomberg report, Mike Verdu has joined Netflix as the vice president of game development. He was a former Electronic Arts executive and the Facebook vice president of VR and AR content.
While this move may come as a surprise to many, the streaming service is constantly looking for ways to beat its competitors. In April 2021, The Guardian reported that Netflix had a “dramatic slowdown in subscribers in the first three months of 2021”. Despite seeing exponential growth during the pandemic, it will now be looking to ensure that its numbers don’t drop further. Introducing games into the mix may help with that.
What We Know So Far?
The report is a little light on details, as many of the sources mentioned wished to remain anonymous. But there are still plenty of details noted here that are of significant interest. For one, apparently, Netflix “doesn’t currently plan to charge extra for the [gaming] content”. This potentially means that games will be added just like any new TV show or movie is. Furthermore, according to another anonymous source, Netflix plans to offer this new content “within the next year”. Additionally, Netflix is reportedly set to “[build] out its gaming team in the coming months”, with job listings for game-development related positions already appearing on its website.
None of this comes as a surprise, especially considering the success of existing streaming services such as Xbox Game Pass. While we still lack a lot of the details, this will certainly be an interesting advancement for the streaming world. While companies like Apple already offer a gaming streaming service, and Amazon has produced a few titles so far, they are yet to do what Netflix is proposing.