Why Doesn’t Netflix Just Hook Up With Stadia?

A streaming giant in need of games, and a gaming platform in need of customers. It could work.

Netflix has a problem. It’s one of the most popular ways to watch TV and movies on the internet, but watching TV and movies isn’t the only way for people to spend their time. Increasingly, another medium is vying for people’s attention, and increasingly it’s winning:

Video games.

Netflix correctly acknowledged, as far back as 2018, that they aren’t just in the movie and TV business. They’re in the leisure business. When people sit down in their living room to do something with they’re downtime, they’re not just forced to choose between watching the latest Netflix show, or some show on another service. They have a third option that has nothing to do with movies or TV.

Or, as Netflix more succinctly put it: “We compete with (and lose to) Fortnite more than HBO.”

So, it’s no surprise that Netflix (finally) announced that it will start offering video games as part of its subscription. Mike Verdu, formerly of EA and Facebook, will join the company as vice president of game development. A Bloomberg report suggests that the goal will be to create games that will live alongside other shows and movies by next year, but…