Netflix confirms it’s adding video games to your subscription in massive streaming shake-up
The Witcher. (Netflix)
Netflix has confirmed that video games are coming to the subscription service.
The company said it was “in the early stages” of expanding into games, according to its latest financial results published on Tuesday.
Games will be included in current subscriptions at no additional cost and will focus initially on mobile gaming.
According to Axios, we can expect a service similar to “a smaller Apple Arcade”.
It will also be a mixture of licensed Netflix IPs and original work commissioned from independent studios.
However the service is far off, possibly launching in 2022.
Netflix will build upon previous ventures into gaming, such as a number of Stranger Things titles and the interactive Black Mirror Bandersnatch.
“We view gaming as another new content category for us, similar to our expansion into original films, animation and unscripted TV,” said Netflix in a letter to shareholders.
“We’re excited as ever about our movies and TV series offering and we expect a long runway of increasing investment and growth across all of our existing content categories, but since we are nearly a decade into our push into original programming, we think the time is right to learn more about how our members value games.”
Netflix’s move into games was reported on previously by Bloomberg, who confirmed former EA and Facebook exec Mike Verdu had been hired to run the gaming division.
The report suggested that gaming would be an additional stream of programming at no extra cost, and an extra outlet for marketing existing programmes.
Adding games to Netflix would give the platform a point of difference compared with main rivals Amazon Prime and Disney+.
The company’s interest in gaming is certainly strong in its programming, with adaptations of The Witcher, Castlevania and Resident Evil proving popular with viewers.
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