Oliver Haslam on July 15, 2021, 9:20 pm

Netflix Hires Former EA, Facebook Executive To Lead Its Push Into Games

Netflix has hired a former Electronic Arts and Facebook executive to lead its efforts into the world of gaming, according to a new report.

Mike Verdu has joined Netflix as vice president of game development, according to a report by Bloomberg. Verdu will report straight to Chief Operating Officer Greg Peters, Netflix confirmed.

The report notes that Netflix intends to be able to offer games via its streaming platform within a year, although it isn’t 100% clear what kind of content that will be. It seems unlikely that we will see big-name titles, but rather tie-ins with existing Netflix content. Thankfully, Netflix doesn’t seem to plan to charge an additional fee for access to the games.

The idea is to offer video games on Netflix’s streaming platform within the next year, according to a person familiar with the situation. The games will appear alongside current fare as a new programming genre — similar to what Netflix did with documentaries or stand-up specials. The company doesn’t currently plan to charge extra for the content, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private.

It remains to be seen how this affects Netflix’s place in the App Store, with Apple keen to prevent game-streaming apps from being made available in the past. Netflix would presumably have to deliver its games via a web app, similar to how Microsoft’s xCloud already does.