Netflix's new kids gaming app is a missed opportunity

Netflix has launched a new app called Playgrounds, which essentially serves as an app for kids to play. While it has always been possible for parents to set up their children’s profiles and monitor their activity and access content in the main Netflix app, this new app offers a couple of useful features.

For a start, Netflix Playgrounds would allow parents to track the frequency of participation in a game. Basically, this allows parents to check which games their child no longer plays, making it easier for them to restore storage on their devices by deleting games that haven’t been touched for a while.

This is particularly important as it ties into another key feature of Netflix Playgrounds: offline availability. All games and activities in the new app will be stored locally on the device, meaning they can be played offline. This is a nice feature to have while traveling, during a long flight, or anywhere with network restrictions.

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Should Netflix have created a separate app for games?

It’s an interesting move by Netflix to move all children’s gaming content to a separate app designed specifically for children under 8 years old. There is a large (and growing) library of netflix games which can be accessed through the main Netflix app.

Netflix could have created a separate Netflix Games app and provided the option to add a child profile there, similar to how its main apps work across devices. It would probably add more value, as having the entire library of games on the phone would make it useful for both parents and their children.

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However, it is a step in the right direction for Netflix, as it makes it easier for parents to give their children access to Netflix games on their own devices. However, there was an opportunity to offer a standalone app that works for both adults and children, especially when competition for game subscriptions, apple arcadeIt is also not available as a standalone application.