Netflix will expand its Games catalog to up to 50 titles by the end of this year

Last year Netflix launched the Games service, which allows subscribers of the streaming giant to download and play select Android and iOS games for free. 17 titles are available at the moment, but The Washington Post reports that the company aims to grow that list to nearly 50 games.

To be clear, we’re talking about games that run on your device, you just don’t have to buy them (similar to Apple Arcade) and there are no ads or in-app purchases. This isn’t a game streaming service like GeForce Now or Google Stadia.

It looks like the company will leverage vertical integration – it is developing both a mobile game and a TV show based on the Exploding Kittens board game. The mobile game is launching next month, the TV show is slated to premiere in 2023.

Netflix already has multiple shows based on games in its streaming catalog: The Witcher, Arcane (based on League of Legends), The Cuphead Show, DOTA: Dragon’s Blood, Castlevania. And it has lent its brand to some third-party games, e.g. Hextech Mayhem: A League of Legends Story.

On the flip side, its Netflix Games service offers access to Stranger Things: 1984 and Stranger Things 3: The Game, which are based on the hit show. Searching for “Stranger Things” in the mobile app will reveal the games as well as the show. The company has already acquired three game studios, including Next Games, which had just released Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales, so it has the means to produce games in-house as well.

You can check out Netflix’s list of 11 shows based on video games here. The list includes some of the biggest games ever, e.g. Pokemon, Minecraft, Pac-Man and more. Netflix also offers interactive experiences like the special episodes of Black Mirror and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, as well as all-interactive shows like Trivia Quest, which blur the lines between shows and games.

Source | Via