Netflix today announced that it is expanding its gaming service to TVs, computers, and mobile devices. The company is rolling out a limited beta test to a small number of members in Canada and the UK on select TVs starting today, and on PCs and Macs through Netflix.com on supported browsers in the next few weeks.
Two games will be part of this initial test: Oxenfree from Night School Studio, a Netflix Game Studio, and Molehew’s Mining Adventure, a gem-mining arcade game. To play games on TV, Netflix is introducing a controller that members already have in their hands most of the day — their phones. Members on PCs and Macs can play on Netflix.com with a keyboard and mouse.
This limited beta is meant to test Netflix’s game streaming technology and controller, and to improve the member experience over time. Games on TV will operate on select devices from Netflix’s initial partners including: Amazon Fire TV Streaming Media Players, Chromecast with Google TV, LG TVs, Nvidia Shield TV, Roku devices and TVs, Samsung Smart TVs, and Walmart ONN. Additional devices will be added on an ongoing basis.
“We’ve been focused on creating a great gaming experience for our members since 2021 when we added mobile games to Netflix,” said Mike Verdu, Vice President of Games at Netflix, in a statement. “Our goal has always been to have a game for everyone, and we are working hard to meet members where they are with an accessible, smooth, and ubiquitous service. Today, we’re taking the first step in making games playable on every device where our members enjoy Netflix — TVs, computers, and mobile.”
By making games available on more devices, Netflix hopes to make games even easier to play for its members around the world. “While we’re still very early in our games journey, we’re excited to bring joy to members with games,” Verdu addded. “We look forward to hearing feedback from our beta testers and sharing more as we continue on the road ahead.”
MacDailyNews Take: Netflix’s gaming endeavor doesn’t scream “winner” to us.
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And they’ll be at a huge disadvantage due to Apples anticompetitive rules regarding game streaming too.
Not sure about that since it appears the method Netflix is using, at least for now, doesn’t involve iOS and Apple would have a hard time defending their policy for web based applications.