• by Aaron Baar , March 2, 2016

The revolution may not be televised, but it may come in the form of games streamed to people’s television sets. 

LG Electronics has struck a deal with game subscription and rental service GameFly to enable video game streaming on its Smart TVs beginning next month. The deal allows owners of the sets to stream games without requiring the purchase or setup of an expensive console.

“At a fraction of the price of buying a full gaming system, LG Smart TV owners can now access high-quality video games without the need for a separate console, eliminating the hassle and expense of a full gaming system,” an LG representative tells Marketing Daily. “This is LG’s first foray into streaming console game subscription services.”  

GameFly’s streaming service uses remote cloud servers to stream console games over the Internet directly to smart TVs (and other devices). Users only have to plug a gamepad into their sets to access the content and use the games.

GameFly launched its game-streaming app last year (making it available on Samsung smart TVs and Amazon Fire TV). The service has been referred to as a “Netflix for games,” though it operates on a different model. Users subscribe to specific game bundles (such as an assortment of Lego games) for a monthly fee. While the games are not the newest titles, the company has invested in the service, expanding it into 56 countries since launching in 2015.

“We are excited to offer GameFly Streaming on LG Smart TVs,” said David Hodess, CEO of GameFly, in a statement. “LG’s superior picture quality and performance coupled with their global footprint will allow gamers worldwide to discover and enjoy GameFly Streaming.”