Say what you will about Netflix’s continuing efforts to attract players to its library of mobile games, but the company is serious about providing gamers a good experience. The streaming giant has been attacking the problem of getting subscribers to play its games from a lot of different angles, and its latest tactic is being rolled out to the public today.

The streamer announced in a blog post on Wednesday that it has officially brought gamer handles to its mobile games platform. Netflix subscribers will be able to create a unique public username that can be used across all Netflix games, helping them make friends and play with each other, while also providing privacy to users as they interact with others on the platform.

You can set up your own gamer handle on both iOS and Android simply by:

• Booting up your Netflix mobile app.
• On iOS: Download “Rival Pirates” or “Lucky Luna” for prompts you to select your gamer handle in-game.
• On Android: Select the games tab in the navigation bar and find the banner that says “Create your Netflix game handle.”

Accompanying the introduction of gamer tags is the release of two new mobile games, “Spongebob: Get Cooking” and “Desta: The Memories Between.” Whether it’s delighting customers by serving up delicious dishes in Bikini Bottom’s finest restaurants or reliving memories, rediscovering friends, and repairing relationships in surreal worlds, both mobile games offer rewarding and fun challenges on the go.

Gamer handles for Netflix users were quietly introduced in July for select titles such as “Into The Breach,” “Bowling Ballers,” “Mahjong Solitaire,” and “Heads Up!” Netflix is also reportedly developing features that allow gamers to see their place on leaderboards and invite other users to play with them.

Adding gamer handles is an excellent strategy for Netflix. Gaming is an inherently social undertaking, and adding social components to its games helps Netflix bring its offerings more in line with the console gaming experience. The addition of gamer handles and more social functions is not the only tactic that Netflix is using to attract more mobile gamers. The company added 12 games to its library earlier this summer, and will expand its total to 50 by the end of this year.

Netflix is going full speed ahead with its mobile games, despite numbers suggesting that less than 1% of its subscribers use them. Undaunted by this fact, the company has established its own gaming studio, which will produce even more mobile games for the streamer.

While the goal of mobile games might not be to drive additional subscription numbers, they are designed to keep customers engaged — and paying for — the service, especially among younger generations. It remains to be seen whether the investment that Netflix is making will pay off, but to its credit, the streaming giant is attempting something that no other competing service has yet attempted, which should give it another advantage in the ever-evolving streaming wars.

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Netflix is a leading subscription-based video streaming service that offers on-demand access to an extensive library of over 3,000 movies, 2,000+ TV shows, and a growing collection of acclaimed Netflix originals. Renowned for producing groundbreaking content, Netflix has become a cultural powerhouse with hit originals like “Stranger Things,” “Wednesday,” “Squid Game,” “The Crown,” “Tiger King,” “Bridgerton,” “The Witcher,” and “Black Mirror.”

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The platform constantly updates its catalog, introducing fresh content alongside timeless classics and international hits. Netflix’s commitment to storytelling has also earned critical acclaim, with award-winning exclusives such as “Roma,” “Marriage Story,” “The Power of the Dog,” “Mank,” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” In 2023, their animated film “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, further solidifying Netflix’s reputation for high-quality content.

Recently, Netflix has expanded beyond standard movies and TV titles with the addition of video podcasts, and is also exploring a digital store that would offer third-party streamers within the app.

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