Netflix wants to publish its first video games in 2022 and they sign a veteran of EA and Oculus for it
The platform does not plan to charge extra for accessing its games, sources close to it say.
Netflix wants to expand into the world of video games. In May, The Information and Reuters published that the streaming giant plans to follow in the wake of Apple Arcade to offer games on its platform through a subscription, something that Netflix did not confirm as such, but did acknowledge that they have an interest in video games . Now, Bloomberg is reporting a high-profile signing to lead this video game division that is still shrouded in mystery, but which would seek to offer its first games in 2022 .
Mike Verdu will join Netflix as Vice President of Video Game Development, reporting directly to the company’s COO. The signing has been confirmed by Netflix to the aforementioned medium. Verdu is a veteran of companies such as Electronic Arts and Oculus , with extensive experience in the video game sector. His last position was at Facebook, Oculus’ parent company , tasked with working with developers to bring games and more content to the virtual reality platform.
Stranger Things 3: The Game (2019)Although the signing is official, sources close to the company unofficially affirm that Netflix intends to offer video games on its platform as soon as 2022 , without specifying the dates. These games would appear on the streaming service as a new genre of content, a new section, instead of being offered through a separate platform. For now, and always based on these sources, Netflix does not plan to charge its users an extra for these games.
Of course, these types of plans and conversations are always subject to change as long as there is no official announcement. The point is that Netflix is hiring people to spearhead its efforts in the world of video games, and we’ll see if the company manages to publish its first games next year. Whether they succeed or not, what we will not miss are the video game series on their platform, first with the recent premiere of the Resident Evil series , and later with projects such as the Tomb Raider animated series , or that series of Long awaited Cuphead .
