When the news broke that Netflix was entering the games market, everyone was perplexed that the streaming giant was trying to compete with such established companies. However, the company is about to take its efforts to be successful in the industry even further, with them “seriously exploring” its cloud gaming offering.
The news comes via Netflix’s Vice President of Gaming, Mike Verdu, who speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt, explained (Per Eurogamer) that the company view the technology as “a value add” for its subscribers.
He said: “We’re not asking you to subscribe as a console replacement. It’s a completely different business model. The hope is over time that it just becomes this very natural way to play games where wherever you are.”
He then turned his attention to the failure of Google’s game streaming service Stadia, which is to halt all operations in January, only three years after it was launched. Verdu said that although Stadia was a “technical success”, which was “fun to play games on”, there were actually issues with the business model itself.
Although Google’s Stadia came in the form of users purchasing individual games, some have figured that Netflix’s might be an all-inclusive subscription mode. However, it remains unclear, as the streaming service have only tapped into the market in a very limited manner, offering a small range of mobile games.
Elsewhere in his conversation, Verdu confirmed that the company are opening an internal games development studio in California. It is to be headed by Chacko Sonny, the former executive producer of the hit games Overwatch, who left Blizzard Entertainment last year. It will also be Netflix’s fifth studio, after an internal Helsinki team was established, and the purchase of Night School Studio, Boss Fight Entertainment and Next Games.
