You Will Be Able to Play Games on Netflix Within a Year

Previously, Netflix has dabbled in interactive content, including the popular interactive film Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. But a breaking report reveals that Netflix wants to expand into video games in a big way, to be more competitive in the face of popular online games like Fortnite.

This information comes courtesy of Bloomberg, which claims that Netflix has hired a former Facebook Inc. and Electronic Arts Inc. executive to lead the charge with this new development.

The executive in question is Mike Verdu, who will have the title of vice president of game development at Netflix. He will report to Netflix’s Chief Operating Officer Greg Peters. Presumably, Netflix is interested in Verdu’s previous experience at Facebook, where he helped various developers create engaging games for the Oculus Rift.

And while the original report does not mention a timeline, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman tweeted that video games will be added to Netflix’s service “in the next year.”

New story with @Lucas_Shaw: Netflix is planning to add video games to its service in the next year and has hired Facebook’s VR games content head, and former head of mobile games at EA, to run its new gaming division. https://t.co/hvs7n1pzVB
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) July 14, 2021

While this Netflix gaming news seems surprising, the company dropped hints about this months ago. As reported by CNET, Netflix COO Greg Peters said in April, “We’re trying to figure out what are all these different ways… we can deepen that fandom, and certainly games are a really interesting component of that.”

Continuing, Peters said, “There’s no doubt that games are going to be an important form of entertainment and an important modality to deepen that fan experience.”

So, what do you think? Will Netflix become the next big thing in gaming? Or will this sudden move quietly die before we see any games? Let us know in the comments!