Netflix Games Unveils Squid Game and More Coming to the Service Soon [CNET]

Netflix showed a few of these games at Gamescom.

Netflix showed a few of these games at Gamescom.

In August at the Gamescom video games show in Germany, CNET Editors’ Choice award pick Netflix showed off a few games it plans to add to its gaming service soon — including one based on the popular series Squid Game. The streaming giant also announced online that it’s adding a handful of other games to the service, too. 

Netflix is virtually synonymous with streaming movies and TV shows, such as Black Mirror and Stranger Things, but your subscription also gives you access to mobile games you can play on your iOS or Android device. If you subscribe to Netflix (which starts at $7 a month), you can play these games and many more without ads or in-app purchases at no additional charge.

Here are the games Netflix plans to add to its gaming service soon. You can also check out other games on the service now.

Diner Out

Available now.

Cook up some delicious meals to put your family restaurant back in the spotlight in this cozy merge puzzle game. Create dishes by combining different ingredients from the board, discover new recipes and upgrade your kitchen to make the perfect stack of pancakes.

Ludo King: Netflix

Available now.

Race your friends to the finish in this digital board game based on the ancient Indian game Pachisi. Your goal is to move your pieces to the center of the board — called Home — before your opponents. And if you land on a space occupied by someone else’s piece, you can knock that piece back to the start.

Snake.io

Available now.

The classic phone game Snake gets an upgrade. You start off as a small serpent who can freely move around the board, as opposed to in a grid pattern like the original. There are plenty of pellets to eat and help you grow, but there are also other snakes wandering around and growing, too. Cut these snakes off to make them explode into little edible chunks, but be careful — they’re out to cut you off too.

Monument Valley 

Available: Sept. 19

Guide a silent princess through a land of Escherian designs in this award-winning puzzle game. Overcome optical illusions and impossible objects as you search to be forgiven of something. This version of the game includes the original game and two expansions, Forgotten Shores and Ida’s Dreams. 

RollerCoaster Tycoon Touch

Available: Oct. 8

Design roller coasters, build rides and develop the amusement park of your dreams in the mobile adaption of the classic PC game. Collect new rides with a card-based progression system, expand your park and balance the needs and desires of your park customers. Or see how high you can shoot a coaster full of patrons into the air — we won’t judge.

Monument Valley 2

Available: Oct. 29

Return to the impossible designs of Monument Valley in this standalone sequel. Guide Ro and her daughter through mind-bending puzzles on a journey that explores motherhood and personal growth. Manipulate the environment to clear your path or discover a new way forward.

Monument Valley 3

Available: Dec. 10

Dive back into the world of Monument Valley for the first time in years in this Netflix-exclusive game. Set sail in a whole new story filled with more impossible objects and a giant goldfish that might swallow your boat — surely it was an accident.

Squid Game: Unleashed

Coming soon.

This 32-player party showdown game features challenges fans of the series will recognize — like Red Light, Green Light — and some all new ones. Team up with a friend to take down the competition and overcome deadly obstacles, but just know they could betray you in the end.

While Netflix announced that Squid Game’s second season will premiere on Dec. 26, it’s unclear when the streamer will release this game. Netflix has released other games based on popular series on or around the same date as the premiere of those series, so I would expect this game to be available around the end of the year.

(Note that a previous version of this story included Battleship, a mobile version of the classic board game, set for release on Sept. 10. That game never materialized.)

Here’s how you can access the games in Netflix’s library

1. Download the Netflix app onto your iPhone, iPad or Android device.
2. Open the Netflix app and sign in to your account.
3. Tap Home across the bottom of your screen.
4. Scroll down your homepage until you see the Mobile Games carousel.
5. Tap into a game to learn more about it.
6. Tap Get Game to download a game you’re interested in. 

You can also search for games in the Netflix app by tapping the magnifying glass in the top right corner of the app and entering the game’s name.

An additional pop-up from either Apple’s App Store or the Google Play store will open, asking if you want to download the game. After confirming that action, the game will download on your device, like other apps.

For more on Netflix Games, here’s what to know about Hades and other games on the service. You can also check out the latest and upcoming titles on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Apple Arcade and Crunchyroll Game Vault.