Netflix is reportedly expanding into video games next year.
That's according to a new report from Bloomberg, which cites people familiar with Netflix's plans who claim that the company will offer video games through its streaming service starting next year in 2022.
To head up these plans is former Facebook, Oculus, and EA Mobile executive Mike Verdu. The report claims that Verdu has now been hired at Netflix to spearhead the new initiative from the streaming company, and additionally, the video game offerings from Netflix will apparently be added as another genre alongside the TV sub-genres.
Finally, the Bloomberg report claims that the addition of video games to Netflix won't come at an extra cost to subscribers. Thankfully, it would appear that Netflix has no current plans to charge extra for people looking to take advantage of its video game offerings, which is surely welcome news to those highly anticipating Netflix's new venture.
This is the second such report which claims Netflix is looking to expand into games. Earlier this year in May, a previous report claimed that Netflix was actively approaching leaders in the video games space to helm their expansion into games. This new report from Bloomberg updates this previous report, as the firm seem to have found their leader in Mike Verdu.
At the time, a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement to Gamesradar+ that "we’re excited to do more with interactive entertainment." The spokesperson pointed to interactive adventures like Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and Wild Vs. You as allowing viewers to more directly engage with the stories that they like, and it certainly did look like those shows could pave the way for Netflix to expand into the games space.
It's a pretty exciting time for Netflix, in all. While the company has more blockbusters than ever on the film and TV streaming side of things, like Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead and Bridgerton, the thought of Netflix taking up game streaming can potentially open up games to a massive audience at no extra charge.
For a complete look at all the games coming to consoles over the coming year, head over to our new games 2021 guide for more.
