Netflix adds usernames and hints at further social gaming features

NME

Netflix has added a username system to its gaming section, calling the new feature “game handles”.

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Game handles work like any other gaming name tag system, they are publicly identifiable usernames that are unique to every user. Upon downloading certain games like Into the Breach and Mahjong Solitaire, the user will be prompted to create a Netflix game handle.

“Your game handle is a unique public name for playing games on Netflix” the prompt reads. The description for game handles mentions the ability to invite friends via their game handles and leaderboard functionality for games. However, these features are not yet available – suggesting they’re planned to arrive at a later date.

The Verge spoke to Netflix spokesperson Kumiko Hidaka who said the company is “always looking to improve our members’ experience on the service, and are exploring different features to enrich the Netflix mobile games experience,” though had “nothing else to share” at the moment.

Netflix has increased its presence in gaming, adapting several video game series’ to film or television. These include the Resident Evil and Cyberpunk 2077 series’ and the upcoming BioShock film. Though the Resident Evil series has now been cancelled after just one season after poor reception from fans.

The gaming section of Netflix may not have delivered just yet, as less than one per cent of Netflix’s subscribers reportedly engage with the platform’s gaming section.

The company is still experimenting with gaming and is hoping to add more games to the platform by the end of 2022. Back in June, Devolver Digital announced that it was bringing three games to Netflix Games.

In other news, The Callisto Project and PUBG had their shared universe connection severed due to narrative difficulties. 

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