Netflix is ​​testing a cloud gaming service in the US to compete with PlayStation and Xbox – Netflix

The service is an extension of Netflix’s smartphone gaming efforts, which began in 2021 with the company acquiring game studios and licensing titles from individual developers.

The goal is to make gaming an important part of its business. Netflix’s cloud gaming service allows members to play games on smart TVs and TV-connected devices, using their mobile phone as a controller.

Netflix first hinted at its plans to enter the cloud gaming market last fall, when Mike Verdeau, Netflix’s vice president of gaming, told… TechCrunch malfunctionThat he was investigating such an offer. Verdu explained that Netflix sees gaming as a “value add” rather than a console replacement. He hoped that over time it would become a normal way to play games.

The move puts Netflix in competition with other cloud gaming services such as Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming, Nvidia GeForce Now, PlayStation Plus, and Amazon Luna. However, Netflix differentiates itself by offering its games for free with a Netflix subscription, with many titles tied to its most popular series. Among other things, the company is said to be developing games based on series such as “Squid Game,” “Wednesday,” and “Black Mirror.” It has also reportedly discussed plans to release Take-Two Interactive’s “Grand Theft Auto” game through a licensing agreement.

Netflix has already released games related to popular series such as “Love is Blind,” “The Queen’s Gambit,” “Stranger Things,” “Narcos,” and “Nailed It!” And others. It has also added to its available options generally popular games such as puzzles, platform games, card games, strategy games, children’s games, and more.

By launching the game streaming service on TVs, the company is looking to make its games available on more devices. The test includes “Oxenfree” from Night School Studio – the first game studio to be acquired by Netflix in 2021, and Molehew’s Mining Adventure, a gem mining arcade game. Games can be played on Amazon Fire TV Streaming media players, Chromecast with Google TV, LG TVs, Nvidia Shield TV, Roku devices and TVs, and Samsung smart TVs. The company said that more devices will be supported over time.

To strengthen its gaming business, Netflix has acquired studios such as Boss Fight Entertainment, Night School Studio, and Finland’s Next Games. It has also created its own in-house game studios, including one in Helsinki headed by a former Zynga CEO and another in Southern California headed by former Blizzard Entertainment CEO Shako Soni.

While Netflix has begun to focus on mobile gaming, it has long hinted that mobile gaming was just an initial phase of its experience. Cloud gaming and its IPs represent the next steps in its strategy.