Gaming has never been more expensive. We’re here to investigate why, and help you play more while spending less. Welcome to GameSpot Cheap Week.
As part of GameSpot’s Cheap Week, we’re running through why games and consoles are so expensive these days (hint: it’s a lot of AI and tariffs). We’re also providing some tips for how to save some money. One way of playing games that has become more popular and commonplace these days is by way of a subscription service. Maybe you don’t want to sign up for yet another membership–that’s entirely understandable–but it’s possible you already have a subscription that includes games that you might not have known about.
Below, we run through some of the subscription services you might not immediately associate with gaming, so it doesn’t include popular programs like Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Plus, and Nintendo Switch Online, but those are all solid options for playing more games without buying titles outright.
Netflix
If you are one of the many millions of Netflix subscribers, you also get access to a growing collection of video games. A nice perk of playing games through your Netflix subscription is that it doesn’t cost anything extra and there are no in-game ads or microtransactions.
Netflix’s library of games includes mobile titles and games you can stream to your PC or TV. Some of the available titles on Netflix include ports of existing games like Street Fighter IV Champion Edition, Into the Breach, Sonic Mania Plus, Dead Cells, and Red Dead Redemption. The Netflix Games library also includes games based on Netflix IP, including Money Heist: Ultimate Choice, Love Is Blind Stories, Narcos: Cartel Wars Unlimited, and Stranger Things 1984.
Netflix also creates entirely original games, including the recently released horror game Unhinged. Filmmakers David Fincher (Fight Club, Zodiac) and Zach Cregger (Barbarian, Weapons) collaborated with developer Night School Studios on the project.
