Bulletins

Netflix launches mobile games to all its members

Netflix subscribers will be able to play five titles on Android phones and tablets.

Netflix games illustration

Netflix is kicking off its foray into mobile gaming with five titles.

Image: Netflix

After first testing mobile gaming in a few select markets, Netflix added games across all of its markets Tuesday. Mobile games are being distributed via the company's Android app, and don't require any additional purchases or subscription fees.

Subscribers will have access to five titles at launch: Stranger Things: 1984, Stranger Things 3: The Game, Shooting Hoops, Card Blast and Teeter (Up). Games are being integrated directly into the Android app, where they will be treated like any other type of content, complete with the ability to restrict kids from accessing these titles.

"We're in the early days of creating a great gaming experience," wrote Netflix game development VP Mike Verdu in a blog post. "We want to begin to build a library of games that offers something for everyone."

At launch, all of the games distributed by Netflix are third-party titles, but the company also has ambitions to create games in-house: In September, Netflix acquired indie game maker Night School Studio to further advance its video game efforts.

Janko Roettgers

Janko Roettgers (Twitter, Mastodon) used to be a senior reporter at Protocol, reporting on the shifting power dynamics between tech, media, and entertainment, including the impact of new technologies. Previously, Janko was Variety's first-ever technology writer in San Francisco, where he covered big tech and emerging technologies. He has reported for Gigaom, Frankfurter Rundschau, Berliner Zeitung, and ORF, among others. He has written three books on consumer cord-cutting and online music and co-edited an anthology on internet subcultures. He lives with his family in Oakland.

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