A tragic fact about human life is that it’s always at the risk of stagnating. Now, this has been both a negative, as well as a blessing in disguise. The latter has been a part of the equation mainly due to its role in pushing us beyond our limits. In fact many of our greatest discoveries have been largely inspired by a need to shake things up. These discoveries have appeared in almost every imaginable sphere we have around the block, therefore setting us up for a more collective brand of progress. Nevertheless, one discovery that made a positive impact on literally all the said spheres was technology. By catering a hugely contrasting set of needs, technology was able to establish itself as a product intelligent enough to have just the right answer for any question. It must be noted, though, that even technology wasn’t to be excused from the world’s law of stagnation. Hence, we started to see it getting replenished through numerous different representations, with one of the major permutations, of course, being video games. The global video gaming industry currently plays with a multi-billion dollars valuation, and that has lured in a true tech giant into the fold.
After a long wait, Netflix has finally rolled out its gaming service to the world. The intentions to make such a foray were made public last year by the company, as the streaming giant talked about ambitions of diversifying its portfolio. As of now, the service is available to Android users. There are concrete plans to target the iOS market too, but it might not be that easy. According to a report put-together by Bloomberg tech reporter, Mark Gurman, Apple’s App Store policies will prevent Netflix from entering the exclusive world of iOS devices. Basically, Apple prohibits third-party apps from acting a platform for gaming. This less considerate stance of the company has posed problems for many cloud gaming services like GeForce, Nvidia, and Google Stadia in the past, and now once again it looks set to dampen the party. Nevertheless, Netflix isn’t going into it unprepared.
If the reports are true, Netflix will be skirting around App Store’s policies by listing their games individually on the platform. Upon downloading, these games can be then launched with the Netflix app. This is exactly how the streaming giant is rolling within the Google Play Store, but the inconvenience of such a procedure doesn’t make for long-term success. Hence, Gurman predicts that Netflix will have to embrace cloud gaming sooner or later.
“Apple will need to change its rules or grant Netflix an exemption,” Gurman says. “That leaves the ultimate success of Netflix’s service in the hands of Apple, a longtime partner but also a growing rival.”