We’ve seen services marketed as “Netflix for games” in the past, but it appears Netflix will fulfill that function itself in the future — kind of. The company will soon offer an adaptation of Telltale’s Minecraft: Story Mode, and it will include interactive elements.
A report from TechRadar initially said that a version of Minecraft: Story Mode would be coming to Netflix, but it will not be the exact same experience currently offered on consoles, phones, and PC. It will function as an “interactive narrative story,” rather than a full choose-your-own-adventure game we typically see from Telltale, but it should still give less-experienced players the chance to see what Minecraft: Story Mode is all about.
As CNET pointed out in its own report, this sort of interactivity has actually been on Netflix before with Puss in Book: Trapped in an Epic Tale, and as Minecraft: Story Mode is already aimed at a younger audience than most of Telltale’s other games, it makes sense for it to be offered this way. A collaboration between Netflix’s Stranger Things and Telltale is also in the works, but it will be offered through Telltale’s traditional channels instead of on Netflix.
Netflix might not be ready to offer full-fledged game streaming on its platform, but several other companies are preparing for it. Electronic Arts is planning to offer the ability to stream its games on nearly any device you own, and Microsoft has begun working on a similar service. PlayStation Now lets you play a variety of games from either a PlayStation 4 or PC without having to purchase them individually, and GeForce Now offers more unique options — though you do still buy copies of the games through Steam, Uplay, or Battle.net, Nvidia handles everything hardware-related on its end, so you’re free to play games your own computer wouldn’t otherwise be able to run.
We would love to see Netflix offer similar interactive experiences in the future, possibly with Telltale’s more mature series like The Wolf Among Us or Tales from the Borderlands. Which games would you like to see adapted for interactive Netflix shows? Let us know in the comments!
Updated with correction on nature of Stranger Things adaptation.
