Netflix has begun a (very modest) beta test of its intended future streaming game platform. The amount of devices that may participate is also relatively modest.
Netflix is beginning (further) testing of its future streaming gaming platform in the UK and Canada. For now, with only two test games (Oxenfree and Molehew’s Mining Adventure), so there is not a whole lot to experience yet. Furthermore, the test can be run on Google Chromecast with Google TV devices, Roku streaming devices and TVs, NVIDIA Shield TVs, LG TVs and Samsung TVs. Conspicuously absent is the Apple TV 4K, but that has to do with Apple’s rules that allow streaming of games in apps only within certain limits. However, chances are pretty good that the popular set-top-box will eventually join Netflix’s gaming service. But during this first round of testing, not just yet.
Support for Windows PCs and Macs should also be rolled out within a few weeks. It remains to be seen, whether Netflix can actually put a firm foot in the game-streaming market. By no means all attempts to market games in this way have proven successful in the recent past. But at the same time, technology is of course advancing and thus future game streaming may become as common as video and audio streaming.