Netflix has finally launched its first in-app games in Poland. Currently, in the testing phase, the video streaming service is offering ‘Stranger Things 1984’ and ‘Stranger Things 3’ to users in Poland to enjoy on their smartphones. But the feature is only available on Android and will not likely be released on iOS, any time soon.
After Facebook and Microsoft, Netflix is another non-gaming company to venture into the lucrative mobile cloud gaming industry. And Google and Ubisoft are also working on their mobile gaming platforms. With millions of daily active users on Fortnite, Fallout, FreeFall, and other LIVE streaming games others, the cloud gaming industry is expected to grow to $5 billion in the next five years.
Netflix kicks off mobile gaming with two original games, with more to come soon
In July, it was reported that the company former Facebook’s VP hired Mike Verdu as the vice president of Game Development and its gaming service was to launch by 2022. But, as a surprise move, Netflix has already started public testing of its new mobile gaming category. The company’s Poland account announced on Twitter that:
Let’s talk about Netflix games. Starting today, users in Poland can try out two Android mobile games: Stranger Things 1984 and Stranger Things 3. We are at an early stage and we still have a lot of work to do in the coming months, but this is our first step.
The reason for only pushing the games on Android is that Apple does not allow cloud gaming on iOS. Earlier, Microsoft and Facebook were rejected by the App Store review board and they pushed their mobile gaming service on android and the web. Having said that, Apple might allow Netflix gaming via web-like Xbox Cloud Gaming on iOS.
Netflix subscribers will be able to enjoy mobile games based on popular the service’s popular shows with no additional cost. In its Q2, 2021 revenue report, the company wrote:
We view gaming as another new content category for us, similar to our expansion into original films, animation and unscripted TV.
Games will be included in members’ Netflix subscription at no additional cost similar to films and series. Initially, we’ll be primarily focused on games for mobile devices. 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.
