When it comes to streaming, fewer names have dominated the space than Netflix has over the years, although as of late the company faces intense competition from other services. Amidst all this, Netflix has its eyes set on another sector in the form of gaming via its Netflix Games initiative. Now it appears Netflix Games might have bigger ambitions in the pipeline.
Back in July 2021, Netflix announced that it will expand its platform to video games with an initial focus on mobile titles. Though the service launched with only five titles, Netflix Games now offers over 20 mobile titles on its platform. So far, the streaming giant has indicated that Netflix plans to offer close to 50 games by the end of 2022. However, it seems that Netflix Games may be looking to expand its gaming foothold even further through cloud services.
Netflix has been ramping up its gaming capabilities during the past few months. In March this year, Netflix acquired Boss Fight Entertainment, its third game studio purchase within a span of six months. Now, according to a recent job posting Netflix is on the lookout for a rendering engineer to support its cloud gaming service. It states that the prospective employee will assist the company with optimizing the rendering of games such that Netflix can "render multiple games on our cloud gaming appliances." The listing further reads that the engineer will assist with "the development of SDKs to enable game developers to succeed in writing high-quality games for the Netflix cloud games ecosystem."
Further, several other job listings support the idea that Netflix Games may indeed be venturing into cloud services. Vacancies for a Senior Games Engineer and a Game Design Lead both mention "experience building games for early or unfinished platforms and services." Even a recent Security Product Manager job post lists "experience with Cloud Gaming challenges, threat vectors, infrastructure, and client requirements." Nevertheless, time will tell how the streaming giant's gaming ambitions will play out.
Netflix is yet to officially announce any cloud service offerings in terms of its gaming plans. Though it's likely that the company will continue to expand its gaming department considering its Netflix cloud games ecosystem ambitions. But as far as confirmations go, the company has only stated that more tie-in games for Netflix shows are on the way with promises of no ads, extra fees, or in-app purchases. Either way, it will be interesting to see how Netflix navigates the already competitive space through the cloud.
Source: Protocol