Mike Verdu has finally made clear his new invisible position at Netflix: VP of GenAI for Games.
Details of what this place actually means are scarce, however, in a LinkedIn post, Verdu stated that it is “working to drive a ‘once in a generation’ tipping point for game development and player experiences.” “, with generative AI at the center of it.
News of Verdu’s new role first emerged in June, followed by confirmation that former Epic Games executive Alain Tascan would assume his previous role as president of Netflix Games.
In his LinkedIn post, Verdú urged his friends to “not pay attention to misinformed speculation in the media about changes at Netflix Games,” emphasizing that Tascan’s recruitment and his new personal location had been part of a “planned transition.” .
In terms of what generative AI will do for games, Verdú said he believes the technology allows better development teams to travel faster and improve the features of smaller teams.
“Many view this technology with fear, but I am a game creator at heart and I see its potential to unlock us all, to create mind-blowing new experiences for players, to elevate us to new heights,” he wrote. “Yes, we will have to adapt and change, but when have we stopped meeting that challenge as an industry?”
Netflix has been investing heavily in video games over the past few years, especially since it first hired Verdu in 2021.
The entertainment streaming company has more than one studio and opened two in-house, even though the company last announced that it would be the last studio in California, running AAA games.
Netflix video games are the easiest to get on mobile devices yet: lifetime downloads of more than 100 titles surpassed 210 million in September.
