Netflix Games, the gaming side of the streaming service, may soon boast Grand Theft Auto games amongst its offering. That’s if a deal between Netflix and Rockstar, being considered by Netflix (via Gamedeveloper) comes to fruition.
Having one of gaming’s biggest series on their platform would certainly be a good look for Netflix and – if a deal can be struck – given the existence of “the original trilogy” (Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City & San Andreas) in premium mobile form already, those games appearing on Netflix should be a simple matter of signing a deal.
Grove Street Games – the developers behind the ports – were also behind the disastrously received Definitive Edition remasters of this trilogy which reworked textures and delivered a ‘new look’ that many found inferior to the original releases. It’s therefore likely that if a game were to appear on Netflix’s games service that it would be one of the original ports, or a bespoke remake entirely. It wouldn’t be out of the question for Netflix either internally or via a third-party developer to – with Rockstar’s co-operation – devise their own, perhaps improved ‘ultimate’ editions as platform exclusives.
While GTA 3, Vice City, San Andreas would be welcome, the possibility of a mobile port for Grand Theft Auto V would be a far superior draw. The game has never appeared on mobile and – incredibly – is now ten years old during which the technology to run locally or stream such a game is now a reality.
Deal or no deal?
The most obvious stumbling block would be the grip that Rockstar has on its IP and the value they place upon it. One of the by-products of the recent Activision Blizzard deal was that documents appertaining to Microsoft’s cloud gaming buinsess were made public, revealing the multi-millions that Microsoft paid in order to have GTA V on their Game Pass service. It seems certain that Rockstar would seek a similar deal – especially if it was GTA V that was on Netflix’s hitlist.
