Netflix's Game Streaming Service 'Will Include PlayStation Games'
Not content with being the (almost) undisputed overlord of the movie streaming world, Netflix has put video gaming streaming services in its crosshairs and is drawing back its bow like Horizon's Aloy. Although the plans are only just being sketched out at the top, we recently reported how Netflix is apparently going to offer a video game streaming service within the next 12 months.
If Netflix's video game streaming service is a hit, it would undoubtedly rival the likes of PlayStation Now, Xbox Game Pass, the Epic Games Store, and Stadia. The latest update claims that Netflix will be working even closer with Sony to bring your favourite PlayStation games to the streaming giant.
Are PlayStation games coming to Netflix?
Posting on Twitter, Steve Moser, Editor-In-Chief of The Tape Drive, shared four images that tease Netflix working hand in hand with Sony. The datamine reveals Netflix's gaming division is under the working name of "Shark" and has a logo that looks like a shark fin. The rest of the datamine revealed a custom shot of two PS5 DualSense controllers, a Netflix logo, and the Ghost of Tsushima cover.
The four images are supposed to represent Netflix's current marketing campaign for its gaming sub-brand. It's a bit of a reach, but Moser drew comparisons between the logo and the PS5's DualSense controller - suggesting a Sony and Netflix partnership.
With The Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut coming out in August, next month could be a time to keep an eye on updates. While we don't ever imagine Ghost would release on Netflix, the fact it's one of Sony's best-selling exclusives means Jin Sakai could be used as the partnership's poster boy.
Should PlayStation games come to Netflix?
It all sounds great on paper, but isn't there a danger that Sony branching out into another way to play could dilute its already established storefronts? There's already some confusion about what PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now offer that are different to each other.
Let's also remember that Netflix apparently won't charge a surplus to play games. Having PlayStation titles bundled in with your usual subscription could lead to some cancelling their PS Plus or Now memberships. Then again, Netflix is hardly known for rolling out A-list titles as soon as they're launched, so we imagine a limited slate of PlayStation classics to start with.
Netflix and Sony teaming up is hardly that surprising. The dynamic duo recently struck up a deal for the Uncharted and Ghost of Tsushima movies to land on Netflix, which could spell trouble for Microsoft and the Game Pass. Although Microsoft's Phil Spencer is committed to bringing Game Pass to as many platforms as possible, Sony teased its own version of Game Pass was on the way.
Microsoft has the might of Bethesda behind it, but with Sony never one to rest on its laurels, the potential of seeing PlayStation games old and new on your Netflix's must-watch list is sure to shake up the next-gen video game wars.
