Yes, Netflix has some excellent games, but no one plays them. According to a recent report, less than 1 percent of people who subscribe to the streaming service actually use the free games. That stat is certainly not helped by the process you have to go through to play, which while not entirely Byzantine, is more complicated than it needs to be.
Continue reading: Netflix has some great games, but nobody plays them
Netflix signaled its foray into games early last year, when it sparked a talent search for gaming executives. However, by November, the streamer added five games to its mobile app The initial offers were disappointing, say the least. (Who really needs more phoned games based on stranger things?)
Now, playable for subscribers at no extra cost, the library includes some real diamonds in the rough, like the tactical game into the breachthe physics platformer PoinpyRoguelike Lite moonlightingand the narrative belly punch Before your eyes.
How to play games on Netflix?
Right now, you can’t play Netflix games on a smart TV or, ironically, with a gaming console’s Netflix app. You will need either an Android device (updated to at least Android 8.0 software) or an Apple mobile device (with iOS 15 or higher). From there, follow the steps below:
- Open the Netflix app, then scroll down until you see the Games row. There is no separate tab that summarizes all games.
- Click on the game you want to play. This will take you to the storefront for your device – App Store for Apple phones and tablets, Google Play for Android devices – and then prompts you to download the game to your phone. It shows up as an unrelated app, although you’ll see the Netflix logo in the top-left corner of its icon.
- When you start the game, you will be asked which Netflix account you are using. (Once you log into one game, you seem to stay logged into other games as well.)
Sure, it would be nice to be able to just play these games on the Netflix app – just like you watch movies or TV shows on the service. Still, the process isn’t terrible. I tried this morning into the breach, which recently got such a big expansion it might as well be a sequel, and found it just as fun on mobile as anywhere else. I’ve dealt with that too Poinpy and had to tear myself away after the tutorial or it would have rightly derailed my day. Man, what an instantly addicting little game…
There are a few quirks, though: I couldn’t get the audio to work for either game unless I plugged in headphones. (Subway riders around the world should be happy that Netflix’s wave of free games won’t add to the cacophonous noise pollution already plaguing America’s transit systems.) And the service isn’t quite on the scale to contend with some of the largest mobile phones -gaming subscription services, such as Xbox Game Pass or Apple Arcade. But as a way for a handful of easily accessible games, I’m impressed.
What games does Netflix have?
Currently supports Netflix the following gameshowever, notes that not all games are available on all devices:
- Arcanium: Rise of Akhan
- Asphalt Xtreme
- Before your eyes
- bowling baller
- card explosion
- Domino cafe
- dungeon dwarves
- dragon up
- Exploding kittens
- Hextech Mayhem: A History of League of Legends
- into the breach
- Into the Dead 2: Unleashed
- The knitting
- Krispie Street
- Mahjong Solitaire
- moonlighting
- Poinpy
- Relic Hunters: Rebels
- Shatter remastered
- shooting hoops
- Stranger Things: 1984
- Stranger Things 3: The Game
- rocker (top)
- This is a true story
- Townsmen – A kingdom rebuilt
- Wonderputt forever
Netflix plans to increase that number to 50 before April next year. Per The Washington Postreported. This record will eventually include games developed in-house. Last year, it acquired Night Schoolthe studio behind the hit adventure game Ox free. (Night School presented the sequel, Oxenfree II: Lost Signalsat this year’s Tribeca Festival.)
It’s unclear if there are any plans to make games available natively in the primary Netflix app or to spin off the games library into an additional application. If reached for a comment, a Netflix spokesperson directed my box to a company blog post published last November.
“We introduced games to our service less than a year ago,” she said spokesman said. “We’re still in the early stages and we know we still have a long way to go to deliver a great Netflix gaming experience for mobile.”
