Netflix games now also run on the TV

Netflix is bringing games to the TV: within the streaming service's TV app, you can now select the “Games” tab at the top to play a few selected titles from the Netflix portfolio directly. The mobile phone is used for the controls: you can download an app via QR code that links the mobile phone and shows controls on the display.

The selection of compatible games is still quite limited: “Oxenfree”, “Cozy Grove”, “Link Twin” and “Happy Gilmore Golf Mayhem” are available in the German app, for example. The games do not have to be downloaded, so they are apparently streamed to the TV.

Netflix games since 2021

Netflix has been offering mobile games as part of its normal subscriptions since 2021. Until now, the titles could only be played via mobile phone or browser. Netflix has licensed many of these titles from independent studios, but the company is also working on its titles.

However, a particularly ambitious team that was supposed to work on blockbuster games for the streaming service has already been shut down. Netflix also lost several well-known titles in the summer: “Hades”, “Rise of the Golden Idol”, “Case of the Golden Idol”, “Katana Zero” and “Monument Valley”, among others, were dropped from the subscription.

Many well-known new titles have not been added since the games exodus in the summer. The Netflix portfolio of games therefore largely consists of fairly arbitrary licence derivatives of successful Netflix series such as “Stranger Things”. Nevertheless, Netflix is still interested in offering its users gaming options, CEO Greg Peters emphasised at a Bloomberg conference. The gaming experience on TV is particularly intended for playing games with friends in front of the TV.

(dahe)