Imagine a future where you sit down on your couch, load Netflix, and then pick a game to play. That's right... Not a movie or show, a video game. 

According to Bloomberg, Netflix is planning to expand into video games. The streaming giant has even hired a former Electronic Arts and Facebook Oculus executive - Mike Verdu - to lead the charge as its vice president of game development. He'll report to Chief Operating Officer Greg Peters. Apparently, Netflix wants games to appear as a new genre on its platform starting next year. It won't even charge extra for the gaming content, initially. It simply views the strategy as a way to keep growing in saturated markets.

Netflix will build out its gaming team further in the coming months, Bloomberg said. It's even started advertising for game-related positions on its website.

There's also evidence of Netflix’s game plan buried deep within the company’s app via hidden files, according to research conducted by iOS developer Steve Moser. In a tweet on 15 July, Moser noted Netflix’s iOS app indicated to him that the company could launch its "gaming effort" sooner rather than later.

Let's not forget that, on Netflix's last earnings call in April 2021, COO Greg Peters revealed, “...We’re in the business of creating these amazing deep universes and compelling characters... certainly, games is (sic) a really interesting component of that". The executive then added: "There’s no doubt that games are going to be an important form of entertainment and an important sort of modality to deepen that fan experience. So we’re going to keep going, and we’ll continue to learn and figure it out as we go.” 

The Information first reported last spring that Netflix was eyeing gaming. At the time, it speculated Netflix considered offering an Apple Arcade or Xbox Game Pass-like subscription bundle.