Netflix has confirmed its gaming expansion is coming to iPhone and iPad, with games available to download from the company’s video streaming app from tomorrow.
As on Android, the games are downloaded from within the app, rather than streamed from the cloud, and will be free as part of a Netflix subscription with no extra costs.
All of the games have been submitted to the App Store for review and can be downloaded individually, so Netflix is able to get around the App Store rules that has forced the likes of Microsoft onto Safari.
After launching on Android last week, Netflix is bringing the initial stable of five games to Apple devices, as it seeks to diversify its offerings beyond video, with a slew of popular intellectual property to exploit for the new medium.
Stranger Things 1984, Stranger Things 3, Shooting Hoops, Card Blast, and Teeter (Up!) are the games that are available for now. That’s quite an underwhelming offering to begin with, but the company is promising to expand the library in due course.
It remains to be seen whether the company will seek to add game streaming to accompany downloads in the future, given that it is a streaming company first and foremost. However, it’ll naturally face obstacles in getting around Apple’s restrictions.
Microsoft, of course, had to launch its Game Pass service on Safari rather than the App Store.
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Interestingly, the company is also re-adding the ability to subscribe to Netflix via an in-app purchase and Apple’s payments system (via 9to5Mac). The company ditched the option years ago, so it’s interesting to see it come back at a time when Apple could become legally obliged to enable developers to use alternative payment methods, following a court decision within its ongoing row with Epic Games. Apple is currently appealing the ruling.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
