For months, we’ve tracked cloud gaming services and other gaming experiences moving onto TVs people already own. The question now is no longer whether these apps can reach the living room. It is what happens after they get there.
Netflix, Samsung, Play.Works, and PHYND now give us enough public numbers to separate initial reach from active use and retention. The figures are not directly comparable, and that is exactly what makes them useful. They show different stages of adoption rather than one industry-wide growth rate.
The New TV Gaming Numbers Are Measuring Different Things
An 11x increase, growth of more than 200%, and more than six million downloads can look like parts of the same trend. They are not the same measurement.
Netflix is reporting monthly active players for its cloud games. Samsung is reporting growth in unique users playing casual and party games on its Smart TVs. Play.Works has its own monthly active user figures on Samsung TVs. PHYND is reporting U.S. homes that downloaded its app.
| Company or service | Reported figure | What it measures | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netflix | 11x increase | Monthly active cloud-game players since October 2025 | Starting or current audience size |
| Samsung | More than 90% in North America, more than 200% globally | Growth in unique casual and party game users on Samsung Smart TVs | Cloud gaming growth specifically |
| Play.Works | 5x in North America, 11x globally | Monthly active users on Samsung TVs | Overall Samsung Gaming Hub activity |
| PHYND | More than 6 million U.S. homes | Homes that downloaded PHYND | Active households or repeat use |
Those differences represent different stages of adoption. A download can show initial interest. Monthly active users tell us people used a service during a defined period. Retention adds information about whether people return after trying it.
Netflix Gets Closest to Showing Repeat Use
Among these figures, Netflix gives us the closest thing to a repeat-use signal for cloud gaming.
During its Q2 2026 earnings call, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters said monthly active players for its cloud games had increased 11x since the company scaled up the initiative in October 2025. Peters also said adoption was significantly ahead of the curve Netflix saw with mobile games and had higher retention value.
That retention comment changes how useful the 11x figure is. Monthly active player growth tells us more people are using Netflix cloud games during a month. The retention comparison adds Netflix’s own indication that the cloud initiative is holding onto people better than its earlier mobile-games rollout.
There are still major gaps. Netflix has not disclosed the starting monthly active player count, its current cloud-game audience, or a retention percentage. An 11x increase could represent very different audience sizes depending on the starting point.
So Netflix gives us evidence of growing active use plus a company-reported retention advantage, but not enough information to calculate how large or frequent that use has become.
Samsung Shows Breadth, Not Cloud Gaming Retention
Samsung’s numbers answer a different question.
Figures shared with GamesBeat show unique users playing casual and party games on Samsung Smart TVs increased by more than 90% year over year in North America between June 2025 and June 2026. Globally, growth exceeded 200%.
Play.Works separately reported a fivefold increase in North American monthly active users and an elevenfold increase globally on Samsung TVs during the same period.
Neither figure should be turned into a cloud gaming growth rate. Samsung’s data covers casual and party gaming on its televisions, and Play.Works is measuring activity within its own offering.
What the numbers do show is broader growth in people playing games directly on Samsung TVs. That supports the idea that television gaming is attracting more use, but it does not tell us how much of that growth came from cloud gaming or how often those people return.
PHYND Shows Large-Scale Trial, Not Habit Yet
PHYND sits at another point in the adoption process.
CEO André Swanston said more than six million U.S. homes downloaded PHYND onto their TVs in the weeks following its Samsung rollout. For a relatively new subscription-free cloud gaming service, that is a large acquisition figure.
But acquisition is what it measures.
A household downloading PHYND does not tell us whether someone launched a game, returned the following week, or kept using the service a month later. PHYND has not publicly disclosed monthly active households, return frequency, or retention for that group.
The six-million figure tells us PHYND has convinced a large number of households to install the app. The missing step is what happens after installation.
Cloud Gaming Needs Better Usage Metrics Next
TV gaming no longer has to be judged only by new apps and compatible screens. We are beginning to get numbers tied to actual use.
What we still lack is consistency.
Monthly active households would tell us how many homes are using a service during a given month. Download-to-first-play conversion would show how much initial interest becomes actual play. Thirty, 60, and 90-day retention would show how many people return over time. Plays per household and average time played would add frequency and duration.
Netflix is closest to giving us that kind of picture, but its public numbers still leave important blanks. Samsung shows growing gaming activity directly on TVs without isolating cloud gaming. PHYND has a large acquisition figure without public repeat-use data.
That is still progress. We have moved from asking whether people will try gaming directly on their televisions to having evidence that many already are. The next question is harder and more important: how many keep coming back after the first try?
As always, remember to follow us on our social media platforms (e.g., Threads, X (Twitter), Bluesky, YouTube, and Facebook) to stay up-to-date with the latest news. This website contains affiliate links. We may receive a commission when you click on these links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you. We are an independent site, and the opinions expressed here are our own.
