After teasing its plans to enter the cloud gaming market last fall, Netflix today unveiled a new software that will soon let users play games on their TVs. The “Netflix Game Controller” app allows you to play games offered by Netflix by connecting your phone to your TV and using it as a controller.
There is currently no information on when or if Netflix’s games will be brought to the big screen, despite the fact that the game has already appeared in the App Store. The app description, on the other hand, merely teases: “Coming soon to Netflix.”
Netflix has already made public statements about its plans to diversify beyond mobile games.
However, the executive clarified that he does not see Netflix as a competitor to PlayStation or Xbox.
“It adds value. We’re not asking your subscription to act as a stand-in for the console,” Verdo remarked at the time. The business concept is very different. The goal is to ultimately make games look incredibly natural wherever you are.
While previous cloud gaming services, such as Google’s Stadia, have failed, Netflix believes the problems were business strategies rather than technology. Verdu said that Stadia’s games were fun to play, but the company’s revenue model was unstable.
In contrast, Netflix includes free games at the price of their streaming subscription.
Leanne Loombe, vice president of outdoor games at Netflix, boasted about the company’s plans for cloud gaming this May, saying, “We believe cloud gaming will enable us to provide such easy access to games on any screen. The phrase “Our overall vision is that our members can play games on any Netflix device they own” obviously refers to consumer TVs.
At the same time, the streamer also said it has 40 games planned for release this year, with 16 games in production at its own studios, and 70 more games in development with partners. Since November 2021, when Netflix began offering games, it has released more than 50 titles.
In March, Netflix was discovered to be working on an iPhone-based game controller.
The market has recently been more concerned about how Netflix’s intentions to tighten password sharing could affect its bottom line, thus the spotlight on Netflix gaming has been diminishing. The streamer added 5.9 million of its global subscribers in the most recent quarter, bringing its total to 238.4 million, indicating that the crackdown was effective. But it also means that, whenever it might launch, more players will be available for Netflix’s cloud gaming service.
The new Netflix Gaming Controller app is now only accessible on iOS devices. Due to its recent arrival, market intelligence company data.ai does not currently have it rated or listed under Netflix apps and games on its service.