Netflix reached a new milestone in its long-awaited expansion into the world of gaming. On Monday, the streaming giant announced that it is reaching outside the mobile gaming space, beta testing videogames on computers and smart TVs for select users in Canada and the United Kingdom.
Netflix’s attempt to establish itself in gaming began in 2021 with a selection of mobile games tied in with its original content available through the site’s app. However, the goal has always been to expand into more conventional gaming as well. The release of an app called “Netflix Game Controller” in the iOS App Store last week suggested that just such an announcement was pending.
“Today, we’re taking the first step in making games playable on every device where our members enjoy Netflix — TVs, computers, and mobile,” the company said in a release. “We are rolling out a limited beta test to a small number of members in Canada and the U.K. on select TVs starting today, and on PCs and Macs through Netflix.com on supported browsers in the next few weeks.”
Amazon Fire TV Streaming Media Players, Chromecast with Google TV, LG TVs, Nvidia Shield TV, Roku devices and TVs, Samsung Smart TVs, and Walmart ONN will all support the new gaming service, with more devices to be added soon. The Game Controller app will enable users to play directly from their phones without needing a third-party device.
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At launch, only two games will be available: Oxenfree from Night School Studio, a Netflix Game Studio, and Molehew’s Mining Adventure, a gem-mining arcade game. But despite the limited beta, Netflix hopes to establish itself as a home for game streaming in the future. Data gathered from beta testers will be used to further refine the experience and “bring joy to members with games.”
The announcement comes amid the ongoing Hollywood strike, in which unionized actors and writers are protesting, among other things, unfair residual payments from streaming platforms. Another concern arose from the entertainment industry’s use of Artificial Intelligence, which threatens the livelihood of actors and screenwriters—and with Netflix currently offering a $900,000 annual salary for an AI specialist, those concerns may be justified.
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