Netflix appears poised to enter the gaming arena, after it announced earlier this week that it had hired ex-EA executive Mike Verdu to lead its expansion into the lucrative sector. While this could, potentially, be considered yet another headache for market leader PlayStation, it’s possible the Japanese giant could also see an opportunity here – and if images datamined from the streaming service’s app are to be believed, a potential partnership could be afoot.
According to dataminer Steve Moser, there are already video game references within the Netflix app’s source code, including a logo for a service called ‘N Game’, as well as assets for a couple of unbranded DualSense controllers and Ghost of Tsushima’s artwork. These could be errant leftovers from testing, but they’ve certainly fuelled speculation.
Sony, after all, is already in bed with Netflix, having signed a multi-year US licensing agreement which will see Sony Pictures Entertainment movies like Uncharted come first to the streaming service following their theatrical and home entertainment release windows.
There’s unlikely to be too much of substance here – Netflix’s venture into video games appears to be at a preliminary stage anyway – but it’s still fascinating nonetheless. Could Sony, perhaps, consider Netflix a valuable ally against Game Pass and other disruptive business models? It’s far too early to make those kind of calls, but it’ll be interesting to see how this story develops – especially as the media giant formulates its entry strategy into an extremely competitive market.
[source twitter.com, via bloomberg.com, videogameschronicle.com]
Comments 55
Last of Us on HBO, and Last of Us on Netflix. Who would've thought?
Weird. Perhaps it’s a streaming thing and PS Now will be merged with Netflix to make this.
@mrtennis1990 You don't speak for everybody
@nessisonett
That's not a bad idea actually. At the very least it's a good way to get more people to try PS Now. Interesting thought there.
The irony of Game Pass as the ‘Netflix of Games’ being usurped (big word for a Friday, I’ve had a cider) by a Netflix of Games actually being Netflix+Sony… unlikely, but theoretically hilarious. Grab the popcorn.
Wow I literally said this other day on nintendolife, the ultimate steaming service with TV shows, movies, anime, games and now playstations exclusives, plus you get that Netflix subscription with playstation plus (at a higher price of course)
@akaprepare I know I don't speak for everyone, it's just my humble opinion. All everyone complains about is the "Netflix" of gaming and if it does terribly, it could hurt Sonys overall image when it comes to marketing. I would hope instead of partnering with another company, PlayStation gets there own cloud in place to compete against the digital future that helps there own customer base.
I'm kinda interested in how it will end up. Maybe merge PS Now with Netflix's gaming division?
Better not put PlayStation exclusives on there..
Sony if they really wanted could do a film & music & gaming service in one & cause a big wave they have the content for it.
this might be Netflix & Sony going into this together joint venture?
pretty sure Sony has a deal with Disney + as well on the film side of buisness.
I wonder if this will simply be PS Now integration?
Sony already have the game streaming technology there.
Makes more sense.
I imagine this is more likely tv show related than gaming.
If PlayStation games are on Netflix, it defeats the entire mantra of Sony's profit plans. If everyone on PC and Xbox can just stream PlayStation games through Netflix why would anyone buy a PS5 or buy into the PlayStation ecosystem? This idea would set up the Series X as the console with everything to offer and the PS5 as the console with nothing to offer.
@LastSaneManOnEarth I would still buy consoles I really hope a PS6 will come as well. streaming games is not for me as long as options are available I really don't care anymore.
that makes no sense Sony has a streaming service already MS is doing one as well Streaming is not as popular as PlayStation consoles. why they are selling like hotcakes still.
@UltimateOtaku91 The funny part is that Microsoft have already been testing this... They have been offer Disney + and stuff like Spotify with the service.
could this be sony's answer to game pass? This is exciting although I hope ps5 owners do get some kind of bonus.
I'm just not gonna ever buy these subscription services besides PS Plus and my internet. Not to mention there are so damn many for Christ's sake.
Hoping I'll be able to get trophies by watching Netflix. (Who am I kidding, I'll just run it on autoplay while I'm away)
@David187 I think the issue is people don't want to pay for all of it when they don't use it all. I use apple music and would have a hard time being swayed as I don't even want to stream games.
Will follow in the footsteps on Google, Facebook, and Amazon in videogame entry failures
@LastSaneManOnEarth The kind of games you can run through Netflix and play with your TV remote are different from those you play with a controller on the PlayStation.
Sony put Run Sackboy Run on mobile without undermining Little Big Planet on PlayStation so I suspect a Netflix Ghost game would be substantially different from Ghost of Tsushima on PlayStation.
Still could be fun and profitable for both parties.
If this is true I think it could be a masterstroke. Netflix subscriptions dwarf Gamepass subscriptions by a ludicrous margin.
@Floki but not on one service/platform as in terms of Disney plus they gave you a free trial but you still needed the Disney app seperate to gamepass
Pretty sure it will happen, seems like a gimme. Also pretty sure it will fail, but I know they have to try. Assuming it's cross between Apple Arcade & Stadia where you pay 1 price per month - Apple - to stream games like Stadia. Apple may fail bc/ those games only work on Apple devices, Stadia failed, or is in the process of failing - bc/ they expected you to pay full price to stream games. But $9.99 a month to stream games could maybe work. May already be to late w/ Microsoft Xcloud already out there. I see Gamepass as THE subscription gaming service even if a lot of people just expect the experiment to fail.
But it's surely coming. May not even fail if it's cheap enough, but it probably will.
Oh, boy. I wonder what ol' Jimbo is getting the PS brand into this time...
@UltimateOtaku91 Well it not like Gamepass require it own app. It built into platform it self.
@Floki I know but to use the trials for Disney and Spotify you need to download seperate apps and sign up for each of them individually. But with playstation partnering with netflix you could just log onto Netflix and have different tabs for films, movies, anime and Games.
Bandersnatch!
Hmmmm with the direction PS is going in, I can't help but feel this may simply be a way to tie in new PS5 games with Netflix Series and Movies from the Sony Pictures side of things. The Last of Us Remastered Remastered Again launching alongside the TV series for example....
@rjejr very well said.
@rjejr At the right price maybe it will be good i already have Netflix and i love their series.
@Jaz007 sure I agree I would not pay for game streaming as well not for me. I really do believe if Sony had an option of all together it could work single service options available as well.
This is huge cause you know Sony can't compete with MS money, but Netflix surely does
we seen games get deleted due to music licensing etc if we buy a streamed game will it get deleted off our account? not having a disc when buying a game doesn't feel right for me ive disc games at full price but only buy the digital versions on sale or 90% off so if it goes ive it on disc.
if only P.T demo was released on disc 😂
What if it's the info structure that sony is after ? They nake a few deals with Netflix on the gaming side of things to get a peek at the back end they make a few tweaks here and there and who know maybe all of a sudden streaming ps3 games works as seemless as running it on a the machine. Who knows interesting stuff none the less
Ironic if this develops into something major. Microsoft's Game Pass has always been referred to as "The Netflix of Gaming" ...
@UltimateOtaku91 Netflix are taking over the steaming industry as well?!!! Can't they leave well enough alone?!
@AFCC er... Sony is far closer in size and revenue to Microsoft than Netflix.
Wootie woot woot!!! Makes since with the movie/ tv portion of the PSN purchasing going down next month.
@WolfKingk87 And why not?
These tech companies always underestimate how easy it is to break into gaming.
If I already have a controller I’m not going to plug it into my TV to use Netflix – I’m going to use the system the controller is used with.
Perhaps gaming via Netflix will be awesome, but considering the flaws of every other game streaming service I am extremely skeptical. If I can stream new, excellent games for no extra money and the experience is flawless then that sounds great, but there is almost no chance of that happening.
Also, how will Netflix accomplish this financially? My understanding is that though Netflix is very popular it struggles to turn a profit. How will they fund game studios and additional licence fees without any additional revenue?
And to hear that they hired an EA exec who also used to work for Oculus and (yikes!) Zynga circa 2012, doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence. Zynga stock decreased over 80% in 2012.
Trying to one up Game Pass? Definitely two juggernauts that could pull it off. Guess we'll see.
@KippDynamite If two companies can pull it off, it's Sony and Netflix. I get the skepticism and I'm sure most skeptics are usually right in these cases but there's that 5% chance this will be something big.
@hi_drnick Netflix is worth 2x more than Sony though.
streaming games is only a good idea if the developer can also sell the game and dlc on the same platform other wise they make very little money from just streaming their games.
As much as everyone on here hates gamepass Netflix gaming could be far more damaging to the industry
@KippDynamite Exactly Netflix make billions in revenue but have to spend most of it to provide the service and content. It would be the same for gaming
Strange that with Microsoft "gamepass its ruining the industry unsustainable" soon as netflix is mentioned of doing it great cool
Urgh. Netflix is a pretty rubbish service these days. Would prefer for them to keep well away from games.
So the article says Netflix is going into games now wait a second....
A company that is already being squeezed like a lemon by Disney and Amazon financially. A company which on one recent show down graded the budget of said show from 13 million an episode to 8 million an episode while a similar show on their competitors service had a budget of 20 million an episode.
And now they want to go into games I don't think they understand how much this will cost and looking at what has been happening the last two years to streaming services they are already on the back foot imo this is doomed to fail.
You heard it here first dear readers on the q.t. and very hush hush!
@darksoul77 Maybe doomed...but on the other hand it doesn't sound like they're going into game production...just 'hosting gamers'...you have to assume their streaming tech is already there. If they partner with Sony and get that first party stream of games then it could turn abit more positive than stadia...where they struggled on the games front.
Of course if it is a success and Netflix becomes the 'netflix of games' with playstation fronting it then you can guarantee all those that hated Xbox offering gamepass and cloud streaming and how they want to 'own their games' will now be praising Sony's efforts.
Of course the problem with a streaming only system is that it relays on the internet. And America has poor internet a fair few states.
@hi_drnick well I miscalculated that then
The great thing, for me, about Gamepass is being able to download games and not just stream them. So that would have to be a thing on Netflix for it to work for a lot if people. Not everyone of course as some are happy to stream; but for a lot…
@trev666 yea it’s all just BS.
@Flaming_Kaiser I think it's less about the price, more about the streaming, b/c despite NF being on Sony and MS consoles, not Switch, it's still mostly on streaming devices like Roku and Amazon Fire, so I think we are looking at a streaming service, not a download and play service, and a lot of people aren't going to like that, despite everyone streaming NF on everything besides Switch.
@mrtennis1990 Thanks.
I don’t particularly care if games are streaming or not, but the service has to be solid AND worthwhile to keep me interested. I liked what Stadia could do, though the pricing of the model is a rip off. If Stadia was closer to a streaming Gamepass with its own flair of exclusives, it could have been more compelling. Saying it in past tense as if it has gone, but, no, I just cancelled my sub, and it feels that way.
Curious what Netflix will offer, but I’m typically not much a fan of Netflix’s TV programming (sure, there’s a few things, but I haven’t watched anything on my shared Netflix account for nearly a year now…), so I doubt I’ll be much interested in this. But then again, I’m one of those weirdos that seems to watch less and less TV as more and more streaming services become available (and am still buying things on DVD and Blu-ray). Just seems like most new shows/movies are sort of… I don’t know… to make a gaming comparison, looking like they’re from the Steam sales section.
@LastSaneManOnEarth
More than likely it would mean that if you access your Netflix account you would have to link to your PS account/console and only through a PS console would you be allowed to play PS games. That is likely how it would work out, if this is real mind you.
@nessisonett I see this being the likelihood. But I wonder if this will also mean a bundle for PS+ and Netflix subscriptions. I'm so tired of multiple streaming platforms.
Tap here to load 55 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...