Netflix is moving — very gently — into cloud gaming
Netflix has announced a move that many have been waiting for the company to make ever since it started to get into gaming: game streaming direct to TVs.
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. Support for playing on PCs via browsers will follow in the next few weeks, Verdu said.
Rather than support bluetooth controllers, at present the Netflix cloud gaming service will use a bespoke smartphone controller app (which had already been spotted on the iOS App Store 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. On PCs, mouse-and-keyboard control will be supported.
The games playable in the beta test are Oxenfree, the cult narrative adventure game from Night School Studio, which was acquired by Netflix in 2021, and something called 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
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