Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Entertainment

The first Netflix games are live, but probably not for you

By

Netflix’s foray into gaming has begun. Slowly. And only in Poland.

The world’s largest streaming service has announced that it’s spun up two games — Stranger Things: 1984 and Stranger Things 3 — and that you’ll be able to play without ads, without in-app purchases, and with everything included in your current Netflix membership.

Recommended Videos

But the vast majority of Netflix’s nearly 213 million paid subscribers don’t have access just yet, as the games have only launched in Poland. (And firing up a VPN instance in Warsaw didn’t make the games magically appear for us here in the United States.)

Netflix's "Stranger Things" games on mobile.
The first mobile games from Netflix are here, with two titles set in the Stranger Things world. Image used with permission by copyright holder

The initial rollout was discussed on Netflix’s Twitter accounts. “Today, members in Poland can try Netflix mobile gaming on Android with two games, Stranger Things: 1984 and Stranger Things 3,” the company wrote. “It’s very, very early days and we’ve got a lot of work to do in the months ahead, but this is the first step.”

We’ve known for a couple months that Netflix was headed in this direction, courtsey of a brief mention in the company’s second-quarter 2021 earnings note. In the letter to shareholders, Netflix said:”We view gaming as another new content category for us, similar to our expansion into original films, animation and unscripted TV.” It announced then that the games would be included in subscriptions, and that it would focus on the mobile space at first.

The experiment into gaming is an interesting one, and in a lot of ways it makes sense. Netflix has a growing stable of original content on which it can piggyback. While not everything lends itself to the traditional gaming experience (The Crown or Bridgerton, anyone?), you could easily imagine expanded gaming experiences built around titles like Sweet Tooth, Warrior Nun, or even the underrated animated series Pacific Rim: The Black. (We wouldn’t hold out for a Netflix mobile gaming version of The Witcher, though, due to the obvious collision with the existing PC and console games.)

As for when we can expect Netflix’s gaming experiment to make its way out of the heart of Europe, that’s anyone’s guess. Stay tuned.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Phil Nickinson
Phil Nickinson
Section Editor, Audio/Video
Phil spent the 2000s making newspapers with the Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal, the 2010s with Android Central and then the…
You can play this story-driven LGBTQ+ game for free during Pride Month
Tyler's hand is hovering over unusual looking orbs while Alyson looks on in the background.

Xbox is going all-in during Pride Month this year with a number of deals and partnerships . This includes making Tell Me Why, the decision-making narrative game about twins dealing with their childhood trauma, free for June.

Starting today, you can get Tell Me Why for free on Xbox consoles, and on Windows PC through Xbox or Steam. The game is also available to play with an Xbox Game Pass subscription.

Read more
What’s new on Netflix and what’s leaving in June 2024
Glen Powell and Adria Arjona in Hit Man.

Sometimes Netflix truly has the best of both worlds, as exemplified by the new arrivals in June. Netflix split Bridgerton season 3 in two so it could save some episodes premiering this month, which only strengths the lineup of originals that also includes the third and final season of Sweet Tooth and Hit Man, the new film starring Glen Powell and Adria Arjona.

But Netflix isn't fully reliant on original content as long as it can grab shows like Dexter and How I Met Your Mother, or films like Crazy Rich Asians and The Lego Batman Movie from other studios. Additionally, the Netflix algorithm is always surprising us by picking an obscure flick that suddenly races to the top of the list of the most popular movies on Netflix. And it's almost impossible to pick which movies will achieve that breakout success.

Read more
Everything leaving Netflix in June 2024
Uma Thurman as The Bride wielding her katana in Kill Bill Vol. 1.

For the most part, Netflix loses more movies than TV series. But in June, the streamer is about to say goodbye to one of the top dramas on network television: NCIS. Even Netflix is going to miss that show when it's gone.

There aren't a lot of movies leaving Netflix in June, but there are some top-tier titles that will be leaving the service including Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2, Animal House, Godzilla, and all of the early Nightmare on Elm Street flicks. Bullet Train is leaving so quickly on June 2 that you may not get a chance to watch it before it's gone. This is why it's so important to plan ahead so you can catch your favorite movies before they depart Netflix. We can help you with our roundup of everything leaving Netflix in June 2024. As always, our picks for the month are in bold.

Read more