Netflix launches mobile video games on Android with Stranger Things titles amid intense streaming competition
- Netflix has globally rolled out a mobile gaming service on Android with several titles already available, including ones based on its hit Stranger Things show
- The games are available for free to Netflix subscribers as it competes with newer video streaming entrants such as Disney+ and HBO Max
Users will only require a Netflix subscription to play those games and there will be no additional fees or in-app purchases, the company said.
Offering games for free to current subscribers echoes the strategy Netflix used when moving from a business of DVDs-by-mail to streaming movies.
Its move into gaming was announced in July, as the company faced a sharp slowdown in new customers after years of rapid expansion, a pandemic-fuelled boom in 2020 and searing competition from the likes of Disney+ and HBO Max.
Netflix has already introduced its games like Stranger Things: 1984, Stranger Things 3: The Game, Card Blast, Teeter Up and Shooting Hoops titles on Android to Netflix members in Spain, Italy and Poland.
The streaming giant also bought video game creator Night School Studio in September and rolled out five mobile gaming titles in select European markets.