Netflix has started to roll out its previously reported video game service in Poland, letting us finally get a glimpse at how they plan to get into the games market.
UPDATE 27/8: Netflix has since replied to our request for comment, their comments have been attached to the end of the article.
At least for their first outing, Netflix will be rolling out the previously-released Stranger Things mobile games, Stranger Things: 1984 and Stranger Things 3 as part of the Netflix subscription for Android users.
In a tweet, Netflix said the following:
Let’s talk Netflix and gaming. Today members in Poland can try Netflix mobile gaming on Android with two games, Stranger Things: 1984 and Stranger Things 3. It’s very, very early days and we’ve got a lot of work to do in the months ahead, but this is the first step.
They also opened up their plans for games on Netflix in future, the most interesting of these being that they don’t want to have paid titles on top of what you’re paying for your Netflix subscription.
Due to the lack of things like ads or in-app purchases, it looks like Netflix aims to provide premium-quality games, without having to pay extra outside of your base Netflix subscription.
Netflix hasn’t given an official reason for why it’s Android only, though we can hazard a guess- Apple has a policy against letting apps download other apps (that is to say, you can’t have an alternate app store app, which is the crux of their ongoing lawsuit with Fortnite). We’ve requested clarification from Netflix on the matter, and will update it accordingly when they respond.
UPDATE 27/8: A spokesperson from Netflix had this to say regarding the story- “Starting today, members in Poland can try Netflix mobile gaming on Android with two games – Stranger Things 1984 and Stranger Things 3 – all as part of their membership. It’s still very, very early days and we will be working hard to deliver the best possible experience in the months ahead with our no ads, no in-app purchases approach to gaming.” The iOS issue wasn’t addressed directly, but it sounds like this is more of a case of the service just being incredibly early in its rollout.