Netflix is of course primarily known as a streaming platform for films and TV series. But in the foreseeable future, the offer will also be expanded to include video games. As early as 2020, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings was very impressed by this idea, Netflix now wants to take new steps into the terrain in 2022, as Bloomberg reports.
With the engagement of Mike Verdu as “Vice President of Game Development” there are clear signs that the plans for an own game portfolio continue to advance. However, it is not yet clear what type of games will be in terms of size. The first experiments in this direction have already been made with the interactive film Bandersnatch.
How video games are supposed to land on Netflix
Who is Mike Verdu?
The latest addition to the team goes by the name of Mike Verdu. The manager has worked for EA, Facebook and other companies in the gaming industry in the past, which is why his hiring can be seen as a clear sign of Netflix’s plans.
Verdu worked for Zynga and Atari, among others, before heading the mobile games department at EA for more than a year. Most recently, he was responsible for developing titles for the Oculus VR glasses at Facebook.
At Netflix he will hold the position of “Vice President of Game Development” and thus be responsible for the new division of the group.
What kind of games is Netflix planning?
It should start as early as 2022: The big question is how broadly Netflix wants to position itself in the gaming sector. If the development of your own titles only starts now, you could start in 2022 only count on smaller games for now.
At a later point in time, however, you could possibly also link the in-house series such as The Witcher or Castlevania with new games. After all, one has been diligently securing one video game brand after another for quite some time:
Competition to Game Pass and Co.? In order to increase the selection, one could also add large games from other manufacturers to the library and thus compete with the Xbox Games Pass or with Google Stadia and Amazon Luna.
At the moment, however, it cannot be foreseen whether you have set yourself such ambitious goals or whether you just want to expand your own offer.
The type of availability is also not yet known. It could be that the games can only be streamed on the home television, which means that you would have to face the usual challenges such as latency and image quality. Of course, the titles can also be downloaded and played locally.
A price increase should not be planned
Incidentally, industry experts do not assume that Netflix will use the range of games as an opportunity to raise prices. This could alienate many potential customers, especially at the beginning. Further details on the new service can be expected in the coming months.
Could a wide range of games attract you to Netflix? Or do you already pay for so many subscription services that you are no longer interested in another provider? Let us know in the comments!