Netflix will take full advantage of the cloud in its games

It all started with a test in August, but Netflix is ​​convinced that cloud gaming is the future. It also fits well with Netflix, which has elevated cloud streaming to the highest level of sports. It has been shown for some time that it takes gaming seriously and now it seems like it’s all coming together in the company’s cloud plans.

Cloud gaming on Netflix

The idea of ​​cloud gaming is that you don’t have to download a game, but can play it instantly by streaming it online. The game is on a server somewhere and you can watch it online, provide input and it will be processed again. Cloud gaming is of course different from streaming series, for example. Streaming series is considerably more passive. Only one side needs to be sent, whereas when streaming games, it works both ways, because the buttons you press have to be sent quickly to affect the game.

Oxenfree is the first game that can actually be played on the cloud as a beta, and Netflix believes this is the way to go. vs the edge The company says it believes it has a huge opportunity with the cloud to deliver gaming experiences that truly match Netflix on TV. After Oxenfree, it wants to offer more and more games via the cloud. But when it comes to gaming, the cloud means something different at Netflix than it does at many other cloud gaming services. The idea of ​​the cloud is that since the game is running on a different server, you can use almost any platform: after all, the computing power mainly comes from that server, and as long as your Internet connection is good, you can use it there, and reap the full benefits.

Platform-based games

However, Netflix wants to handle this differently. It wants to offer different games based on the platform you’re playing on. So, it’s right that Netflix wants to focus on the special features of that platform: it wants to offer a different experience on PC compared to, say, TV. Now we only know Netflix games from smartphones: they are now apps that you log into with your Netflix account, but this will soon become more comprehensive. It’s funny, because from a Netflix gaming perspective, adding TV and PC to gaming platforms is an expansion, whereas from a cloud gaming perspective, you could argue that Netflix is ​​actually making it less inclusive than it could be by releasing games on specific platforms.

Anyway, what Netflix is ​​doing is interesting, but it seems to be doing well. Instead of Google Stadia bursting from the tower and ultimately failing miserably, Netflix is ​​doing the opposite: taking it easy. He’s keeping it on the down low, so we can soon become a major player in the gaming space. After all, it has scale: there are 247 million subscribers worldwide and that’s a lot of players (and even more potential players).

From single player to multiplayer?

It remains to be seen how much Netflix also wants to make the gaming experience more multiplayer. Until now, games have been mainly solitary activities. This also keeps it safe: it’s not online, and there are no microtransactions, for example, which makes Netflix games a reasonably safe space (except for a few less kid-friendly games). Will this also change if more cloud options are added?

Obviously, more and more people know how to find games on the streaming service and this makes it easier for Red N to choose to expand its gaming initiative. Netflix said that despite other reports that the adoption of games on the streaming service remains disappointing, it is very happy with the number of members who are able to find games.

Trials of Netflix’s cloud capabilities are already underway in Canada and the United Kingdom. So you can actually play games there on some TVs and online via Netflix.com. It’s still unknown when we’ll also be able to take part in the Netherlands, but given Netflix’s ambitions, it probably won’t take long.