Content video streaming application Netflix after years of experiment has come up with offering more just moves and television series for its users. The company on Tuesday introduced games on its platform for Android phones aiming to please both its investors and users providing them with newer experiences.
Netflix subscribers across the globe will be able to play five mobile games after the new update. These games include:- Stranger Things: 1984 (BonusXP), Stranger Things 3: The Game (BonusXP), Shooting Hoops (Frosty Pop), Card Blast (Amuzo & Rogue Games), and Teeter Up (Frosty Pop).
The mobile games have been initially released on Android devices. Netflix subscribers can choose them through the dedicated games row or games tab that is available on the devices. Another option is to use the categories' drown down menu on tablets and then download the selected games via Google Play. Once the games are downloaded, users can access the games directly through the Netflix app.
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Initially, the Netflix mobile games are available only on Android; they will be soon available for iOS users, the firm said on Twitter.
No additional charges will be applied for the games while the company is not serving any advertisements or have any in-app purchases to offer the games through its platform. However, this could be an introductory shift by Netflix and change eventually by using games as a source of generating revenues for itself.
To attract more users, Netflix is providing games in as many Indian languages as the platform already has for its regular offerings. Meaning subscribers get games in Indian languages including Bengali, Hindi, Punjabi, Marathi, and Tamil, among others. However, games will appear in English as default if no particular language is selected.
Some games on the platform can also be played offline.
Kids cannot have access to the games. To prevent children from playing games you are required to enter a PIN to stop kids from having access to your profile to play the games on your device. “Just like our series, films and specials, we want to design games for any level of play and every kind of player, whether you're a beginner or a lifelong gamer,” Mike Verdu, VP, Game Development at Netflix, said in a blog post.
Netflix has been working with some indie game studios including BonusXP.
Besides acquisitions and partnerships, in July Netflix had hired Verdu as the head of the gaming division who previously had collaborated with developers at Facebook for developing its augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) content. Verdu has worked with gaming companies like Electronic Arts, Zynga, Kabam, Atari, and Legend Entertainment.
The streaming platform had in July in a formal announcement said that it will venture into the gaming world. It told its investors that it imagines gaming as another new content category for the company.
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“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 had said during its earnings call.
Netflix may dampen its platform by offering games, movies and television series together. Time will tell how the fine to utilise the update to expand its revenues and be able to preserve its top position in the video streaming business.
It is not clear yet if the gaming experience will reach the TVs over time as Netflix will need to persuade its users to get designated game controllers for playing the games on TV sets.