Netflix launches its gaming platform on Android with five free titles

Netflix Gaming on Android
(Image credit: Netflix)

After confirming a hotly anticipated move into gaming in July, Netflix has begun rolling out its new mobile games platform to mobile Android devices.

Initially, five games are available for Netflix subscribers to play at no additional cost, and it should come as no surprise that two of them tie in with a Netflix original series, Stranger Things. Members can now play Stranger Things: 1984, Stranger Things 3: The Game, Card Blast, Teeter Up and Shooting Hoops, with the streaming giant promising more titles as it aims to “build a library of games that offers something for everyone”. 

Members will be able to play games across more than one device from the same account, with audio offered in multiple languages, which will default to the preference set in your Netflix profile.

Accessing the service is free as long as you have a Netflix standard membership, and to the relief of subscription sharers everywhere, the ad-free service promises there are no additional fees or in-app purchases.

The games will not be available on kids’ profiles, and those with PIN protection will need to enter that same PIN to play.

On Android mobile, users can locate the new content from a dedicated games row and tab, where each title can be downloaded. Meanwhile, those with an Android tablet can also select games to download and play from the categories drop-down menu.

While the service’s initial release is only for Android phones and tablets, Netflix has confirmed that the platform is “on its way” to iOS devices in the coming months.

Netflix has been testing its new platform for months, including launching the two Stranger Things games through its Android app in Poland. The streaming giant saw a significant increase in subscriber numbers due to lockdowns over the past 18 months. Adding a gaming arm to its offering is no doubt an attempt to retain and further boost those numbers in the increasingly crowded video-on-demand marketplace.

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Mary is a staff writer at What Hi-Fi? and has over a decade of experience working as a sound engineer mixing live events, music and theatre. Her mixing credits include productions at The National Theatre and in the West End, as well as original musicals composed by Mark Knopfler, Tori Amos, Guy Chambers, Howard Goodall and Dan Gillespie Sells.