Netflix reportedly set to enter gaming with 'a smaller Apple Arcade'

Netflix on the Mac
Netflix on the Mac (Image credit: iMore)

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."

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.