A few days back, The Information reported that Netflix is seeking an executive to lead its push into gaming. Netflix wants to compete with Apple Arcade or Xbox Game Pass like subscription bundles. Now, Bloomberg reported that the streaming company has hired Mike Verdu as its vice president of game development reporting to COO Greg Peters. It has been reconfirmed by a Netflix spokesperson.
Bloomberg believes Netflix could offer games right next to its other streaming content “within the next year”. Bloomberg mentioned that Netflix might offer these offerings without charging anything extra for the experience.
Mike Verdu has previous work experience with mobile gaming companies like Zynga, EA Mobile. In the last earnings call in April, Greg Peters said “We’re in the business of creating these amazing deep universes and compelling characters and people come to love those universes and they want to immerse themselves more deeply and get to know the characters better and their backstories and all that stuff. And so really we’re trying to figure out what are all these different ways that we can increase those points of connection, we can deepen that fandom.”
He mentioned that games are an interesting and important component of entertainment. Verdu said, “We’re going to keep going, and we’ll continue to learn and figure it out as we go.”
Netflix has been focusing on its gaming foray for a while. Its list of games includes Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, Carmen Sandiego, and Stranger Things.
