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Yes, Netflix has some excellent games, but no one plays them. According to a recent report, less than 1 percent of the streaming service’s subscribers actually use its 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 the gaming industry early last year when it launched a talent search for gaming industry executives. By November, the streamer added five games to its mobile app, although the initial offerings were disappointing, to say the least. (Who really needs more phone games based on Stranger Things?)
Now, playable for subscribers at no extra cost, the library includes some real gems in the rough, like tactical game Into the Breach, physics-platformer Poinpy, roguelike-lite Moonlighter, and narrative belly-hole 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:
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. This morning I tried out Into the Breach, which recently got an expansion so big it might as well be a sequel, and found it just as fun on mobile as anywhere else. I was also messing around with 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?
Netflix currently supports the following games, but please note 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
- knitwear
- Krispee 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 by April next year, according to Washington Post coverage. This record will eventually include games developed in-house. Last year, the company acquired Night School, the studio behind the hit adventure game Oxenfree. (Night School presented the sequel, Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, at 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. When asked for comment, a Netflix spokesperson referred Kotaku to a blog post the company published last November.
“We introduced games to our service less than a year ago,” the spokesperson 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.”