Bloomberg has reported that Netflix may soon enable players to play games on their televisions by using their phones as controllers.
At present, the only indication of this feature is a few lines of code found within the Netflix app, which imply that users may be able to connect their phones to their streaming devices or TVs for gaming purposes.
Steve Moser, a Contributing Writer at MacRumors and an iOS developer, claimed that he found hidden code indicating the possibility of using our phones as controllers to play the game on the TV. Reportedly, one line of code within the Netflix app says, “A game on your TV needs a controller to play. Do you want to use this phone as a game controller?”
In the past, Moser had discovered clues indicating that the service’s forthcoming ad-supported plan may not offer offline viewing. It later turned out that he was correct.
Netflix wants to make games playable on every device by turning your iPhone into a controller for Netflix running on a TV. Code hidden in their iOS app: "A game on your TV needs a controller to play. Do you want to use this phone as a game controller?" $NFLX cloud gaming soon? https://t.co/ZPl5gyoKkQ pic.twitter.com/ilpSJjcxBG
— Steve Moser (@SteveMoser) March 30, 2023
Netflix introduced its gaming program for Android, iPhones, and iPads in 2021, but users must download games from the App Store or Google Play due to rules established by Apple and Google. As the aim of these games is to boost engagement and maintain subscribers, they can be launched from within the Netflix app, and an active subscription is required to access them. Nevertheless, these games are currently not available on the Netflix app for TV.
So far, Netflix has released 55 games on its platform. However, it will launch 40 more games in 2023. This year, Netflix will invest heavily into mobile gaming, including collaborating with Super Evil Mega Corp, the developer of Vainglory and Catalyst Black.
It remains to be seen how the games turn out in the future. However, in case you didn’t know, Ubisoft also has Just Dance Now which is a game that only needs an internet-connected screen and a smartphone as a controller.
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