Netflix, the biggest video streaming service in the world, is now planning to take its first flight beyond the world of movies and shows, and is looking to launch video games into its thriving ecosystem. For the same, a former executive of Electronic Arts Inc. and Facebook Inc. has been roped in by the company.
Joining Netflix Inc. as Vice President of Game Development, Mike Verdu will help the firm’s plans of opening up video game avenues on its platform by next year. The news was announced by Chief Operating Officer Greg Peters on Wednesday.
He has had the experience of working with a number for developers at Facebook, in order to bring more game offerings into the Oculus headset. While that is a fairly new arena, Verdu has also been involved at EA (the company behind Star Wars, Sims, and Plants vs. Zombies, among other names) , one of the biggest gaming organizations in the world, and thus, his resume speaks for itself.
Once up and running, the games will be a new, separate entity on the streaming service, quite akin to how documentaries and stand-in specials came into being on Netflix. According to Bloomberg, the plans are to not charge any extra fee for the gaming features.
This is not the first time that Netflix has tried to spice things up with a new offering. Previously, the platform has also forayed in kids’ shows, upgraded its movie lineup by adding some Spielberg golds, and has even set up an online store to sell merch.
Even as the number of new subscribers added in the latest quarter report fell lower than expectations, Netflix still remains way ahead of its competitors.
Adverts for game developer and related positions have already been put up, and operations might speed up in the coming months. This could serve to attract tons of new customers, especially since the service’s contemporaries do not have their own video gaming offerings, yet. An additional benefit that might come along with the video games is the liberty to justify price hikes in the future.
Files buried deep inside the app’s programme have started making their way out, showing that the gaming features are already under development, holds iOS developer Steve Moser.
