Netflix Gaming starts to look legit with impressive League of Legends spinoff

Coming to Switch and PC on November 16 and to Netflix Gaming "soon." (credit: Riot Games)

Last week, Netflix Gaming formally launched in a way we didn't predict when the service was first teased earlier this year. Instead of churning out games for home consoles or creating a cloud-based streaming service a la Google Stadia and others, Netflix opted to create a smartphone-exclusive gaming portal, free to anyone who has a paid Netflix subscription.

What's more, Netflix Gaming's day-one library consisted entirely of games that had previously launched on Android, with a mix of licensed Stranger Things games and generic tap-action smartphone fare. But game development exec Mike Verdu teased more to come: "Just like our series, films, and specials, we want to design games for any level of play and every kind of player, whether you're a beginner or a lifelong gamer," he said at the time.

Ziggs is ready to bomb to the beat. (credit: Riot Games)

Today, Netflix takes the wraps off a more interesting game for its smartphone-only service: a previously unannounced League of Legends spinoff with promising gameplay and serious developer pedigree.

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