Netflix Launches TV Games Service Using Mobiles As Controllers
If you’re like the vast majority of people, there’s a good chance you didn’t know that a Netflix subscription included access to mobile games. But, the streaming giant might be about to change that with the launch of TV-based party games. The company has announced that players in select countries, on select devices, will be able to play co-op and couch competitive games.
The first tranche of games features Boggle Party, Party Crashers: Fool Your Friends, Lego Party, Pictionary: Game Night, and Tetris Time Warp.
While Netflix’s previous gaming product was a little lacklustre in its offerings, as well as its execution, this iteration feels different. It’s never going to compete with consoles, PC, or even mobile gaming, but it could help Netflix achieve its end goal – to keep users on Netflix longer.
How To Play
TV games are available to players in the US, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, Mexico, France, Italy, Poland, Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, Finland, Germany, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
Players need to have a compatible TV device and the list of compatible devices is actually quite reasonable – it includes a good selection of smart TVs, as well as devices like Google Chromecasts.
You’ll know if your device is compatible with the service because there will be a Games option at the top of the Netflix screen when you log on using your chosen device.
Once a game has been selected, the player clicks the Play Game button and then scans the QR code using their mobile device, turning their Android or Apple device into a controller.
All the games, like the service’s mobile games, are included as part of Netflix subscriptions, with no additional charge or fee. So, if you have the devices, they are worth checking out. And you might be pleasantly surprised.
The Games
Boggle Party and Pictionary: Game Night are Netflix TV games based on popular family board games. The use of mobile phones as controller means they are viable for TV play, rather than trying to faff around with a TV remote.
Lego Party has been likened to Mario Party, so while it might not feel entirely fresh, it does provide decent playability and enjoyment.
Party Crashers: Fool Your Friends is a social deduction party game that will be popular with fans of bluffing games.
And Tetris Time Warp is a normal Tetris game but with the twist of having players warp between different versions of Tetris from different eras.
As well as these five games, Netflix has also announced Dead Man’s Party: A Knives Out Game – another social deduction game, but this time based on the Knives Out movie franchise, a new instalment of which is set for release in December. The game could launch at the same time to benefit from the franchise’s interest at that time.
The streamer did start work on the technology that underpins the new Netflix TV Games service back in 2022. By that time, it had already started buying video game studios, although it also shuttered several studios in the proceeding years. The company’s mobile games titles are also still available to install on compatible mobile devices, although, honestly, the new TV games are more exciting than what’s on offer on mobile.
