NetflixE3 is a magical time when developers and publishers gather together to show off all the lovely video games they’ll be working on and promoting in the coming months/years.
We’ve seen memorable announcements from Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, Square Enix, and more – but Netflix is one company I never pictured stepping into the arena of E3 2019 until today.
I think we can squeeze you in. What’s the panel called?
— E3 (@E3) May 13, 2019
The unexpected news came via an official Netflix Twitter account, which teased that the company will be at E3 with a special panel called “Bringing Your Favorite Shows to Life: Developing Netflix Originals into Video Games.”
In addition to the panel, we can actually expect a couple of gaming announcements, including an update on the latest Stranger Things video game.
Netflix didn’t reveal any details beyond this, but the name of the panel, as well as their previous work with the Stranger Things game, implies that we’ll be getting games based on some of the streaming giants original programming.
NetflixOf course, the question then becomes which shows will Netflix be turning into games? While I’m personally rooting for a game based on the Daredevil or Punisher, the fact all of Netflix’s Marvel output was recently cancelled kind of kills that dream.
Other Netflix originals I could see working well as video games would be the excellent, gritty superhero show The Umbrella Academy, or a horror title inspired by The Haunting of Hill House. A Black Mirror game would also be an interesting proposition, and I could even see a Bojack Horseman game working quite well in the right circumstances.
Stranger Things 3: The Game was announced at The Game Awards back in December, and is coming to PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC, Xbox One, and mobile devices on July 4. Like the previous two games, it stays fairly faithful to the spirit of the show by turning it into a retro brawler, the kind you could see Dustin and the gang playing at the arcade.
With this in mind, you’d expect that whatever Netflix does adapt next will retain the essence of the show. A Silent Hill style game with all the terrifying ghosts from Hill House would be amazing, for example.
It is worth pointing out the developer behind the Stranger Things game is a relatively small indie developer called BonusXP, so Netflix might not be looking to release a string of AAA games with major developers anytime soon.
With that said, they could shock us all by announcing a major partnership during E3 2019. We’ll just have to wait and see.
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Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.