Netflix gaming has arrived but these are the games I really want to see

(Image credit: Netflix)

published 27 August 2021

Today Netflix unveiled its first two games to users in Poland on the Android app. As Netflix's Twitter feed says, “it’s early days and we’ve got a lot of work to do in the months ahead, but this is the first step.”

The two games are Stranger Things: 1984 and Stranger Things 3, based on seasons two and three of the popular Netflix show.

According to what is readable on the game info, you can play as one of 12 characters from the series (which is pretty much all the big names) and explore both the town of Hawkins and the Upside Down. The game appears to be in a pixelated 80s style and is playable both in single and multiplayer.

Though we knew gaming is coming to Netflix, it will be interesting to see how the multiplayer works – whether you can link up with a friend’s Netflix account to play together, or if it’s just on one screen.

Launching the games in this way, with only a select audience, will allow Netflix to try out the features and get feedback before rolling it out globally. But once it does go global, what other games can we expect? I’ve put together the five games based on Netflix shows that I’d love to see.

The Queens Gambit

With its chess themed narrative, it would be easy to pull this into a game format. Intersperse some actual chess puzzles with the chance to earn more of those happy pills that Beth loves, and you’ve got a winner.

The Last Dance

Who wouldn’t want the chance to play as members of the Chicago Bull’s 1990s team, including Scottie Pippin, Steve Kerr, Dennis Rodman and Michael Jordan? This is an easy three-pointer for Netflix, even if it was originally an ESPN show.

Ozark

The Ozark premise lends itself perfectly to a game. Marty Bird’s task of buying property to launder money for a Mexican drug boss around the watery world of the Ozarks sounds like an adventure game waiting to happen.

Bridgerton

The racy period drama that follows everyone’s favorite British aristocratic families in early 19th century London could lend itself to an equally steamy RPG. Play as any of the Bridgerton or Featherington family members, Marina or the Duke to find suitable marriages and avoid scandal – or cause it.

Tiger King

Perhaps the biggest show to launch during last year’s lockdowns, Tiger King was a car crash that you just couldn’t look away from. But could it make a smash as a game? You could play as Joe Exotic, buying up tigers and selling them, while wearing increasingly bizarre outfits. Or as nemesis Carole Baskin, rescuing the tigers before Joe sells them. It writes itself.

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As T3's Editor-in-Chief, Mat Gallagher has his finger on the pulse for the latest advances in technology. He has written about technology since 2003 and after stints in Beijing, Hong Kong and Chicago is now based in the UK. He’s a true lover of gadgets, but especially anything that involves cameras, Apple, electric cars, musical instruments or travel.