What you need to know
- Netflix is rumored to want to enter the gaming market.
- One source told Axios that the service would be like a "smaller Apple Arcade."
Netflix could be set to enter the gaming market according to two reports, although it isn't thought that it will be ready to do so until next year at the earliest.
Initially reported by The Information and then expanded upon by Axios, Netflix is thought to want to offer its more than 200 million subscribers a way to download games via a subscription model. That model would, according to one source, look very similar to Apple Arcade.
A source familiar with Netflix's plans tells Axios to "think of it as a smaller Apple Arcade," a reference to Apple's offering of high-quality, ad-free mobile games offered to paying subscribers.
It's thought that Netflix would likely offer a mix of first-party titles and some that have been licensed from existing companies.
With Netflix not thought to be anywhere near ready to announce something, there is plenty of time for its plans to change. However, it already offers interactive programming so has previously dipped a toe into something akin to a gaming service. The problem of making traditional video games run on a TV, with the associated hardware like game controllers, is something Netflix would presumably need to work out.
Netflix, predictably, isn't saying much about the rumors.
When asked about this by Axios, a Netflix rep said that users have valued the company's variety of content and the service's interactive shows and games, "[s]o we're excited to do more with interactive entertainment."
