Netflix plans to offer video games next year

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In May, reports surfaced that Netflix is ​​planning to expand into video games and is looking to hire an executive to lead the efforts. Society seems to have found the man. According to a Bloomberg report, the streaming giant has hired former senior vice president of Electronics Art (EA) Mike Verdu to lead its push into the game.

Mike Verdu has a long experience in the world of games. According to his LinkedIn profile, he has been in this industry since 1990, when he co-founded a PC game developer and publisher startup called Legend Entertainment. Legend was acquired by GT Interactive in 1998, which was later acquired by Atari.

Since then, Mr. Verdu has worked for many renowned gaming brands including Zynga, Kabam, and EA, where he headed the EA Mobile division. He has worked on several popular mobile games at EA, including the Star Wars and Plants vs. Zombies. Most recently, Verdu was Facebook’s vice president for AR / VR content. He was responsible for collaborating with developers to bring games and other content to the company’s Oculus VR headsets.

At Netflix, Mike Verdu will serve as the vice president of game development. He will report to Chief Operating Officer (COO) Greg Peters.

Netflix is ​​pushing aggressively in video games

Netflix has been actively expanding its portfolio beyond TV shows and movies lately. The company recently started selling merchandise and launched its own children’s programming. However, games will be its first major expansion, and the streaming giant is pretty serious about it.

The company has not only hired a highly experienced man to lead the efforts, but also has job listings for other positions related to game development. According to the report, Netflix will be building its gaming team in the coming months. It plans to offer video games on its streaming platform as early as next year, which means the company won’t create a separate platform for game-related content.

Games could be offered as a new genre of programming alongside Netflix’s current content portfolio, just like documentaries and other specials. And as you might expect, it is unlikely that a supplement will be charged for game content initially. This is how companies usually try to engage people when expanding their portfolios into a new industry.

Video games will give Netflix another important means of growth. It’s something none of its streaming competitors currently offer. Now it will be interesting to see how things turn out.

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