After reports suggesting that Netflix will be expanding its services by adding games to its library, the company has now confirmed its intention of delving into gaming territory.
In a letter to investors, it said it was in the early stages of expanding into gaming and mobile games are first on the list of games to be added to the platform.
“We view gaming as another new content category for us, similar to our expansion into original films, animation and unscripted TV. Games will be included in members’ Netflix subscription at no additional cost similar to films and series,” the letter reads.
“Initially, we’ll be primarily focused on games for mobile devices. 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.”
The company is yet to confirm when games will be added to the platform but Bloomberg’s recent report suggests it could be as early as next year. It was also reported, with later confirmation from Netflix itself, that it has hired former Facebook, Oculus, and EA Mobile executive Mike Verdu as Vice President of Game Development.
But even with those few important details confirmed, there is still a lot of speculations going on. While Netflix has now made it very clear that the first games coming to Netflix will be mobile titles, a data mine from last week suggests subscribers will eventually see a broader range of games on Netflix, potentially including triple-A games.
Data miner Steve Moser shared several images of Netflix’s ‘N Game’ project which according to Moser were hiding in the streaming service’s app data. The working title he gave is ‘Shark’, but that is subject to change. Moser also revealed data mined images of PS5 controllers and Ghost of Tsushima, suggesting some sort of partnership between Netflix and Sony could be in the works.
Words by Denitsa Gencheva
Support The Indiependent
We’re trying to raise £200 a month to help cover our operational costs. This includes our ‘Writer of the Month’ awards, where we recognise the amazing work produced by our contributor team. If you’ve enjoyed reading our site, we’d really appreciate it if you could donate to The Indiependent. Whether you can give £1 or £10, you’d be making a huge difference to our small team.