What are Netflix mobile games?
Netflix recently started offering games through its service that users can play on their mobile devices. You can play on smartphones or tablets, and there are already a few different options for players to try out.
Naturally, some of the games are based on hit Netflix series TV shows. While others are not. Netflix also plans to expand its library of game offerings, and in due time should have a pretty wide variety of titles to play.
Do Netflix mobile games cost anything?
Netflix games are completely free to play, for now. As it stands none of the games that Netflix offers will cost money to download. This means they’re not premium games. All games are included with your Netflix membership.
That does mean however that you will need a Netflix subscription.
Do the games have ads or micro-transactions?
No. All games included with the Netflix membership are free of ads and micro-transactions. So you can play any of the games completely free as they’re free to download as well. The only thing you have to pay for is the membership.
This goes without saying since you need a Netflix membership to use Netflix anyway.
Do I need a specific plan?
As of right now, no. Netflix mobile games will be available to anyone who has a membership, regardless of which plan they subscribe to. So even if you have the barebones plan that costs the least amount of money, games will be available to download and play.
Where can I access the games?
All the games are available in the Netflix mobile app. There are no games accessible from the browser, console, or TV apps at this time. Netflix hasn’t confirmed if it will ever offer games on other platforms. But it hasn’t said it won’t either. So there’s always the possibility that games could come to other platforms where a Netflix app is available, alongside the browser.
If you don’t care for mobile games, then that will be something to keep an eye out for.
Are Netflix mobile games available on Android and iOS?
Right now the games are available only in the Android version of the Netflix app. For iOS users, the mobile games are coming, but Netflix has only said that they will be coming soon and hasn’t given out any official dates as to when they’ll show up.
It could be sometime before the end of the year or it may not be until sometime in 2022.
What games are currently available?
At the moment Netflix is offering 104 games to users. As noted above all of these can be downloaded in the Netflix app. The games which are currently included with the service are listed below. You will find them all split up in their respective genres for easier searching if you’re looking for something specific to play. Say you’re into strategy games more than other genres, and you’re looking for something new to play. You can scroll to the Strategy category and find everything Netflix offers for this game genre.
Netflix may also remove games from the list from time to time. As an example, the definitive editions of both GTA 3 and GTA: Vice City were once on Netflix, but they are no longer listed as available, and they no longer show up in the app.
When are the games available?
Netflix officially started rolling out the mobile games in its app globally in 2021. Over the course of the last few years, it has steadily rolled out a wide array of games across different genres. This has led Netflix to expand its gaming portfolio with some truly amazing game releases. Including big indie hits like Death’s Door, and most recently, the Grand Theft Auto Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, which Netflix says has been its most successful set of mobile game offerings to date.
New game offerings continue to be rolled out on a pretty consistent basis, usually monthly. Although, Netflix doesn’t always add more than a few titles at a time.
Will Netflix ever do games for other platforms?
Right now Netflix says it’s focusing strictly on mobile. So it has no current plans to share on the potential of console games, PC games, and the like.
These are the early days of Netflix in the gaming space. And the company has said that it’s testing the waters with mobile. That suggests that it might have considered the possibility of games that aren’t for mobile at some point in the future.
For now, though, Netflix and gaming are limited to mobile devices.
Update: December 18, 2024
Netflix is now offering games via the Netflix website in beta. Some of these games are available in the Netflix mobile app, while others are only available on the website. Netflix stresses that games on the website are still in beta and things may change.
Games available on the website only include the following:
– Link Twin
– Story Warriors: Fairy Tales
– Underwatermelon: Fruit Merge
– Caverns of Mars: Recharged
– Centipede: Recharged
– Infernax
– Mole Gem Mayhem
– The Almost Gone
– Rocket
– Reigns
Does Netflix stream the games like it does video content?
No. All games offered are downloadable games. So they’ll install onto your chosen device and you’ll play them there just like any other game. Think of it like something you would access directly from the Play Store (or the App Store on iOS) that needs to be installed.
This doesn’t mean Netflix will never offer any sort of game streaming. But it so far has not said anything to suggest that it has plans to move in this direction. The cloud gaming space is already fairly crowded after all. And Netflix would have a lot of big competition from Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and NVIDIA. Who already have services offered in the space.
Are Netflix mobile games playable offline?
Some of the games are playable offline while others may require you to be connected to the internet to play. These details might be listed in the details for each game individually when you go to download. So make sure to check whether or not that information is available.
Are the games compatible with all Android devices?
Netflix doesn’t have a list of compatible devices. However, most current Android devices should have no problem playing the games. You will probably at the least want a device running on Android 6+. Which is nearly all the devices out there these days.
Worth noting though is that since Netflix doesn’t seem to list any required specs anywhere, what Android version you need and what device you need is not guaranteed and will likely vary.
