Netflix finally streams video games, too
By Jay Peters, a news editor who writes about technology, video games, and virtual worlds. He’s submitted several accepted emoji proposals to the Unicode Consortium.
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Netflix is kicking off the first public tests of its cloud-streamed games. Beginning Monday, some Netflix subscribers in Canada and the UK will be able to check out Netflix games streamed to select TVs, connected TV devices, and on the web from Netflix.com.
In a blog post, Netflix VP of games Mike Verdu characterized this as a “limited beta test” to a “small number of members,” so not all subscribers in Canada and the UK will have it right away. But even though this initial launch is small, it marks a potentially huge moment for Netflix’s gaming ambitions.
The company first launched its mobile gaming offerings as a free perk for subscribers in November 2021. So far, the company’s titles have only been available on iOS and Android. By bringing games to TVs and web browsers over cloud streaming, subscribers will potentially be able to play Netflix’s titles in a lot more places, and it also means that Netflix could begin to compete for gaming time on TVs and PCs.
The two games available right now are the first Oxenfree (made by Night School Studio, which Netflix now owns) and a new title, Molehew’s Mining Adventure, which Verdu describes as a “gem-mining arcade game.”
When playing on TV, you’ll control games by using your smartphone. On Android, the controller will be accessible through the Netflix app, while on iOS, you’ll need to download a special controller app, spokesperson Chrissy Kelleher tells The Verge. (Yes, the one that mysteriously appeared on the App
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