Yesterday Mike Verdu, Netflix’s VP of games posted a release in Netflix’s newsroom about the company’s jump into the cloud gaming space. This episode is a follow-up to my recent episode on Netflix’s Game Controller iOS App so if you haven’t listened to that, I recommend giving the previous episode a listen before getting into this one. 

As Verdu put it, Netflix is “taking the first step in making games playable on every device where our members enjoy Netflix.” 
As of Monday, select TVs in the UK and Canada can be used for playing games on Netflix – with help from the Netflix Game Controller app on their phones. The devices selected to take part in the beta test will be from Netflix’s partners, which include Amazon Fire TV Streaming Media Players, Chromecast with Google TV, LG TVs, Nvidia Shield TV, Roku devices and TVs, Samsung Smart TVs, and Walmart ONNs. The announcement also notes that “additional devices will be added on an ongoing basis”.
Members on PCs and Macs can also expect the games to be available through Netflix.com on supported browsers in the upcoming weeks. PC and Mac users will be able to use their keyboard and mouse to play the games instead of the controller app.
It must be noted that this is part of Netflix’s beta testing and some issues may occur as the company readies its games for broader release. As Mike Verdu explained, “This limited beta is meant to test our game streaming technology and controller, and to improve the member experience over time.” Two games have been released so far for initial tests; Oxenfree from Night School Studio, and Molehew’s Mining Adventure. 
But it’s more than just a couple of games. As Jay Peters, a news editor for the Verge, put it, “Even though this initial launch is small, it marks a potentially huge moment for Netflix’s gaming ambitions.”
Until now, Netflix’s games had only been available on mobile since their launch in late 2021. However, with this newest move, Netflix subscribers will have the opportunity to play games on a wider range of devices, allowing Netflix to enter the competition for gaming time on PCs and TVs.
I will be providing updates on Netflix’s move into the cloud gaming space as additional information emerges. Until then, Thank you for listening to the Old and the New, and see you next episode.