Report Claims Netflix Will Enter Video Games Space

A recent report by Bloomberg claims that Netflix will include video games in the biggest streaming service in the world "within the next year." If reports come to fruition, Netflix will follow Google entering the space in recent years to challenge Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. Microsoft and Sony already have their own streaming services alongside their traditional consoles.

Callum Jones 2021-07-15

Streaming giant Netflix will expand to include video games in its service within the next year, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The popular subscription service has hired Mike Verdu as vice president of game development. Since 2019, Verdu has been working with Facebook as VP, bringing games to Oculus virtual reality headsets, and also had a spell working at EA Mobile between 2017 and 2018.

According to Bloomberg, new games will appear as a new programming service; as things stand, there are no plans from Netflix to charge extra. The plan is to add games for the first time to the service “within the next year”.

Netflix is not shy of the video game space. It is releasing the second season of CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher this December after a successful first season in 2019. The biggest streaming service – attracting 183 million paid subscribers worldwide – also produced a documentary on the troubled development of Ubisoft’s For Honor in the same year.

The Witcher: Season 2 Teaser Trailer | Netflix

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Streaming now seems to be the way new companies enter the gaming industry. Google launched its streaming service Stadia in November 2019, and the two big platform holders Microsoft and Sony have their own service with xCloud and PlayStation Now, respectively.

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