Earlier this year Netflix announced that it was getting into the games business, and surprisingly, the rollout is happening right now, on Android at least.
In a press release, Netflix has made official that Netflix Games is hitting Android devices now as part of its global rollout. As of publishing, Netflix Games has not landed on our Android devices in the U.S. In a tweet, the company clarified that the Games update to its iOS app is "on the way."
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"Whether you’re craving a casual game you can start from scratch or an immersive experience that lets you dig deeper into your favorite stories, we want to begin to build a library of games that offers something for everyone," Mike Verdu, vice president of game development at Netflix in a press release. "We’re in the early days of creating a great gaming experience, and we’re excited to take you on this journey with us."
To start, Netflix will have five mobile games ready to play. These include the following:
- Stranger Things: 1984
- Stranger Things 3: The Game
- Shooting Hoops
- Card Blast
- Teeter Up
A special membership to play Netflix Games is not required. A standard membership works just fine. And there are no ads, additional fees and thankfully, no in-app purchases.
Games will be available in multiple languages and will default to the language in a user's region. If that region's language is not supported yet on a particular game, it will default to English.
Users with families on the same account need not worry either. Each user has their own unique game profile, and users can play on the same overarching Netflix account simultaneously. Some games won't even need a constant internet connection.
At the moment, Netflix is taking the casual gaming route. All the games are playable on touchscreen devices and there's no indication that controller support will be coming.
In a financial report published back in 2019, Netflix stated that it was losing more viewership to games like Fortnite than to competing movie services like HBO. Not only that, Netflix faces stiff competition from YouTube as well.
Either way, we're excited to try out Netflix Games for ourselves and will report back if the current crop of titles hold our attention.
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