Day: July 15, 2021

Eyeing an even bigger slice of the media pie, Netflix is planning an imminent expansion into the video game space, and has reportedly tapped a former Electronic Arts and Facebook executive to helm the initiative.

On Wednesday, Bloomberg News was the first to report that Netflix had selected Mike Verdu — most recently vice president of augmented reality and virtual reality content at Facebook — to serve as vice president of game development. Once installed at the platform, Verdu will report to Chief Operating Officer Greg Peters, according to Bloomberg.

The announcement represents just the latest push by Netflix into a space beyond streaming content like television shows and movies — a realm that the platform has signaled to its 200 million subscribers for years that it was eager to delve into. Netflix first hinted at a potential market expansion during the E3 gaming conference in 2019, when it announced a planned mobile game based on the “Stranger Things” franchise.

Since then, Netflix has been less than coy about its proposed expansion: In a 2019 letter to shareholders, the company named — Fortnite — a popular video game known that has something to do with dancing, if I’m not mistaken — as its primary competition. And in May of 2021, The Information first reported that Netflix was seeking an executive to boost its investments in the gaming space. It’s also not the first time Netflix has sought to blur the line between traditional streaming content and more avant-garde media, including recent interactive features like Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and Carmen Sandiego.

If the stock market is to be trusted — and let’s face it, it’s not — Netflix is making moves that appeal to stakeholders, with shares rising 2% in extended trading on Wednesday following the announcement of Verdu’s appointment. If all this keeps going apace, it looks like we’d all better brace ourselves for My Octopus Teacher: The Interactive Deep Sea Experience by 2025.

Valve has revealed a new portable PC platform called Steam Deck, letting you take and play Steam games on the go with onboard storage rather than cloud streaming. Starting at $399 for the 64GB model and going to up to $649 for the 512GB version, the Steam Deck releases this December, and fortunately, you’ll be able to reserve one for yourself starting tomorrow, July 16, at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET.

How to preorder the Valve Steam Deck

Rather than traditional preorders, Valve is rolling out Steam Deck orders with a reservation system that will cost you $5 upfront. Once reservations open tomorrow, you can reserve the model of your choice for $5, and when inventory becomes available in December, Valve says customers will be notified in the order in which reservations were made. At that point, you’ll then be prompted to make the full purchase. You’ll only be able to purchase the Steam Deck model you reserved (no changes will be available in December), so choose wisely. Only one Steam Deck can be reserved and ordered per customer.

When Steam Deck preorders open on Friday, you’ll be able to reserve one through the link below. You can set an email reminder there as well.

Steam Deck preorder qualifications

In order to reserve the Valve Steam Deck, your Steam account must be in an eligible region: the US, Canada, European Union, or the United Kingdom. (More info about availability in other regions is coming soon, Steam says.) Your Steam account must also be in good standing for the first 48 hours of reservations availability, and you must have made a purchase on Steam prior to June 2021.

Steam Deck pricing

Here are the Steam Deck options you’ll be able to reserve/preorder and what they include:

Steam Deck, 64GB eMMC | $399

Steam Deck, 256GB NVMe SSD | $529

• Faster storage
• Carrying case
• Exclusive Steam Community Profile bundle

Steam Deck, 512GB NVMe SSD | $649

• Fastest storage
• Premium anti-glare etched glass
• Exclusive carrying case
• Exclusive Steam Community profile bundle
• Exclusive virtual keyboard theme

The Steam Deck features a 7-inch touchscreen, two thumbsticks, a D-pad, and a four-button layout. It somewhat resembles a Nintendo Switch, but its “controllers” are slightly thicker with more of a curved grip that presumably will be more comfortable using in handheld mode.

An official dock will be available too, allowing you to prop up the Steam Deck while connecting to a monitor or TV (you can also use a powered USB-C hub for this, Steam says). The dock will be sold separately, and there’s no information on price for that.

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