Netflix has made it official and has started testing game streaming to TV devices in the UK and Canada. It will be supported on most major TV platforms except Apple TV.
Netflix has announced that it is taking the first step in makes games playable on TVs and PCs, in addition to mobile devices. It will be a limited beta test with a small number of selected users in Canada and the UK.
On mobile devices (Android and iOS), Netflix games can be downloaded but on TVs and PCs they will be streamed over the internet from Netflix's servers to your personal device via the Netflix app (TVs) or Netflix.com (PCs).
During the initial beta test only two games will be available: Oxenfree from Night School Studio (owned by Netflix) and Molehew’s Mining Adventure, a gem-mining arcade game.
TV platforms except Apple TV
To play games on PCs, users can use a keyboard and mouse. On TVs, Netflix's new game controller app is required. The app is currently available on iOS.
- "This limited beta is meant to test our game streaming technology and controller, and to improve the member experience over time. Games on TV will operate on select devices from our initial partners including: Amazon Fire TV Streaming Media Players, Chromecast with Google TV, LG TVs, Nvidia Shield TV, Roku devices and TVs, Samsung Smart TVs, and Walmart ONN. Additional devices will be added on an ongoing basis," said Netflix.
Games from Netflix will be streamed to the TV device and controlled with an app. Photo: Netflix
Apple TV is not a supported device right now. Apple currently does not allow game streaming from within catalog apps such as Netflix and Xbox, but it does allow streaming games to be released as individual apps.
Another way to support games on Apple TV would be to offer them as downloadable titles – like Netflix games on mobile devices – which would also work better on Android TV / Google TV devices.
The company said that its end goal is to make "games playable on every device where our members enjoy Netflix".
