By Michael Scott
Since gaming is a major industry, Netflix, a streaming giant, believes it can promote further growth by serving on-demand games through nearly all devices.
Beginning today through a restricted test, Netflix directly streams video games to gadgets. The move abolishes the need to download whole games or have a robust computer or console that can run the games natively.
The subscription-founded streaming service is experimenting with two video games for chosen users in the United Kingdom and Canada. Additionally, this experiment includes specific television models and mobile devices, Windows PCs, and macOS computers. Examples of consoles that are not among the presently supported devices include the PlayStation 5 by Sony and the Xbox Series X by Microsoft.
Netflix Game Controller Orients the Streaming Giant into Games
The news’s announcement was made via a blog post following the streaming company’s silent rollout of an application referred to as ‘Netflix Game Controller’ for iOS last week. On Monday, Mike Verdu, Netflix’s VP of Games, claimed that despite the tech firm being early in the game’s journey.
It provides its beta testers with two games to begin, including Oxenfree and Molehew’s Mining Adventure. Oxenfree is a spooky narrative adventure game from Night School Studio, acquired by Netflix in 2021.
Via the post, Verdu divulged that the limited beta is aimed at evaluating the game streaming controller and technology and improving the member experience. Netflix’s initial inclusion of downloadable games in its catalog took place in 2021. However, this initiative will enable streaming bigger and more robust games to possibly all supported devices.
Since these games operate on a remote server and are later cast on the screen, one only needs a strong internet connection. Verdu also claimed that the TV types supported for the limited test include LG TVs, Samsung Smart TVs, Amazon Fire TV, Walmart ONN TVs, Chromecast with Google TV, Nvidia Shield TV, and Roku devices and TVs. Additional devices will be considered continuously.
So far, mentions concerning the support for video game controllers or game consoles are yet to be heard. Owing to the provision of a few buttons by the present iteration of the iOS controller application, it remains doubtful that specific intricate games will be included until the application is improved or the inclusion of support for physical controllers happens.
Netflix Bets on gaming
People are questioning Netflix’s major push into gaming. So far, gaming competes for attention from users and other entertainment choices, such as movies, TVs, and social video applications and platforms. Films are examples of video games that tell tales and can place participants in another sphere. Further, the addition of interactivity and choice into the mix is possible.
The company’s streaming competitors, for instance, Apple and Amazon, have significantly invested in gaming. This includes different gaming benefits for Prime users on Amazon and the ownership of Twitch, a video game streaming platform.
Further, Apple generates gaming income by cutting 30 percent for all in-application purchases via its immense App Store’s gaming catalog. It also offers exclusive games via the Apple Arcade subscription services.
The growth of video games has surpassed the idea of being a niche body for a few introverts. Findings by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) reveal that, at present, 212.6 million United States citizens play games for at least one hour weekly.
Video Games Attracting Growing Interest From Adults
Video games are not restricted to kids alone. In the United States, 62 percent of adults above 18 and 76 percent of children below 18 play video games. Concerning platforms, the trade association established that 45 percent of gamers utilized a computer to play games, while 64 percent utilized mobile devices.
The central factor is that Netflix should explore video games since they are a multibillion-dollar industry, and casual mobile games are quite popular. Using information from Circana, the gaming report by ESA revealed that last year, Americans used $56.6 billion on video games, an increase of 13 billion dollars since 2019.
The expansion of Netflix into gaming has taken some time. However, testing the capability to stream playable games to nearly all devices capable of running the platform’s crucial video content would boost the number of gamers. Additionally, the move would possibly cover the gap in new information amid the strikes by WGA and SAG-AFTRA.