Netflix announces beta cloud gaming services for TVs and PCs

Netflix announced an announcement that has been anticipated by many since the company began to enter gaming: direct game streaming to televisions.

In a low-key announcement, Netflix’s gaming boss Mike Verdu said it has begun “a limited beta test to a small number of members in Canada and the U.K.,” allowing them to play two games on their TVs. Verdu stated that the support for PCs using browsers would be available in a few weeks.

Netflix will no longer support bluetooth controllers. The service instead uses an app for smartphones (as was seen on the iOS App Store in late last week). The app appears to put a simple, virtual stick-and-button layout on the phone screen, with a big, fat A button surrounded by small B, X, and Y buttons — an arrangement familiar from Nintendo’s much-loved but seldom imitated GameCube controller. The PC version will support mouse and keyboard control.

There are a number of games that can be played in beta testing. OxenfreeNetflix acquired Night School Studio’s cult adventure narrative game in 2021. Molehew’s Mining Adventure. The latter game is a total mystery — unlike Oxenfree, it’s not part of the existing catalog of games that can be played natively on smartphones as part of a Netflix subscription. According to Verdu, it’s a “gem-mining arcade game.”

“Our goal has always been to have a game for everyone, and we are working hard to meet members where they are with an accessible, smooth, and ubiquitous service. Today, we’re taking the first step in making games playable on every device where our members enjoy Netflix — TVs, computers, and mobile,” Verdu said.

“This limited beta is meant to test our game streaming technology and controller, and to improve the member experience over time,” he added, taking pains to point out that “we’re still very early in our games journey.”

The tentative nature of the announcement contrasts with Google’s noisy but ill-fated push into cloud gaming, Stadia, which launched in late 2019 and closed just three years later. While many expect cloud gaming to a key part of the future of video games, there are many technological and other barriers to its growth, and uptake for rival services like Xbox Cloud Gaming (which is technically still in beta) and Nvidia’s GeForce Now has been slow. In that context, Netflix’s caution in entering the competition to establish what is often called the “Netflix for games” makes sense.

Another challenge for Netflix is that its gaming catalog, while actually pretty high-quality, has been built around mobile gaming so far, and many of those experiences won’t translate well to TV screens. It seems a safe bet to expect its streaming service to focus more on titles where there’s an existing PC version, like The BreachMobile Originals, such as the fantastic Poinpy.

Netflix is serious about gaming. It has steadily been both acquiring and founding studios over the last two years, and says it has 16 games in development in-house — including a “AAA multiplatform game and original IP” led by Bungie veteran and Halo and Destiny co-creator Joseph Staten.