Netflix is working towards expanding its gaming operations by opening a new development studio in Southern California that will be reportedly led by a former producer on Overwatch.
According to TechCrunch, Netflix’s VP of gaming, Mike Verdu, said the new studio will include the former VP of Blizzard and boss of Overwatch, Chako Sonny, who will lead development at the studio.
“He could have done anything, but he chose to come here,” Veru said. “You don’t get people like that coming to your organization to build the next big thing in gaming unless there’s a sense that we’re really in it for the long haul and in it for the right reasons.”
It also looks like Netflix is working towards opening its own cloud gaming service as well.
“It’s a value add,” Verdu continued. “We’re not asking you to subscribe as a console replacement. It’s a completely different business model. The hope is over time that it just becomes this very natural way to play games wherever you are.”
This wouldn’t be the first time that a company has attempted to try out a service to allow consumers to stream video games. Google had done so with its Stadia service. However, Stadia didn’t seem to maintain a strong or large enough base of players and Google decided to close the service. By 2023, all of Stadia’s services will go offline.
However, Verdu sees Stadia as a “technical success,” and that its business model was the problem. He added that “it was fun to play games on Stadia. It had some issues with the business model, sure.”
Verdu did not confirm if Netflix would provide something like a dedicated controller for their cloud services.
Although Netflix has been working to try its hand at gaming for some time, it appears that less than one percent of Netflix subscribers play their games.
Currently, there are 35 games to download from Netflix with another 55 on their way. These include original IPs like Stranger Things and licensed games like Spongebob Squarepants. There has been no official word yet as to what Netflix’s new studio will be producing first.
Zainah Yousef
Zainah Yousef is the author of The Fallen Age Saga and specializes in gaming, social media advice, and reviews. She's been writing all her life and she probably won't stop anytime soon.
