Can you stream games on Netflix? Not right now. But all that is about to change, as the streaming giant moves to bring game streaming to its platform inside the next 12 months…
Netflix started life with DVDs that were mailed to your home. It then moved to streaming, and its next phase will see the company bring cloud gaming to its platform.
Multiple reports have now confirmed that Netflix will bring cloud gaming to its platform within the next 12 months. How will it work? Pretty simple: gaming titles will be included in amongst Netflix’s TV shows and movies.
Mike Verdu will join Netflix as vice president of game development. Verdu has been involved in Facebook’s Oculus initiative as well as with EA, helping production popular games like The Sims, Plants vs. Zombies, and Star Wars.
No Extra Cost For Netflix Game Streaming
According to sources close to Netflix, the company will not charge extra for gaming – all titles will simply be added to Netflix’s current roster, so anyone can play them.
As of right now, while this is all very exciting, there are a couple of things that Netflix will have to figure out. The first is how controllers will work. Will Netflix create its own controller, hire a firm like Scuf to make one, or just make its platform compatible with current Xbox and PlayStation controllers?
No one knows right now, but controller compatibility will be a big deal for the platform. My guess? Netflix will rely on third-party, Bluetooth controllers and work directly with game publishers to ensure as much compatibility as possible.
Netflix’s Next Big Thing…
The really cool thing about this idea is that most people have a Netflix account. If you’re able to stream games at no extra cost, save for the price of a controller, then plenty of people that wouldn’t normally play games, or consider themselves a gamer, will start playing games.
By including game streaming at no extra cost, Netflix will give itself a major edge over the competition – namely Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video, as well as Apple TV+.
Microsoft and Apple, and even Google, as well as the likes of Steam, all have cloud-gaming solutions. But none of them have it all under one roof, and this could well be the USP that Netflix is aiming for – all your entertainment, including games and movies and TV, inside one platform for one price.
You’ll obviously need a solid internet connection to game properly on Netflix, but most households in the UK and USA now have decent enough broadband for cloud gaming. And with Microsoft’s move towards the cloud with its Xbox platform, Netflix joining the fray with something a little different makes a lot of sense.
If you won’t need a physical console to play games in the coming years, why not stream all your favorite games via Netflix?
Plus, if Netflix can make its game streaming service cheaper than Xbox Game Pass, then it could cause Microsoft and Sony, as well as Apple and Steam, quite a few problems in the coming years.
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