Angela Lang/CNET

Netflix confirmed Tuesday it’ll expand into original video games, offering them on its existing service at no added cost to subscribers. Initially, the games will arrive on mobile devices like phones and tablets.

“We view gaming as another new content category for us, similar to our expansion into original films, animation and unscripted TV,” the company said Tuesday in its second-quarter earnings report.

Netflix said the games will be included free for paying subscribers. The company didn’t specify timing, only noting that it was in the “early stages.”

Last week, Bloomberg reported Netflix was planning an expansion into video games on its service at no extra cost within the next year. At the time, Netflix confirmed it had hired Mike Verdu, who previously had stints at Oculus, Electronic Arts and Zynga, as vice president of games development, but declined to comment further.

The move into gaming represents the company’s first meaningful expansion into a new segment since it began streaming video in 2007 and released its first original program in 2012, widening Netflix from its bedrock business of TV shows and movies as the world’s biggest subscription video service. It isn’t alone in this area. Amazon has invested in Luna, its cloud gaming service, and has its own gaming studio, while Google has put money into its own Stadia game-streaming service.

Netflix had hinted recently that it was interested in stepping up its pursuit of gaming. The company has flirted with games before through its interactive, choose-your-own-adventure-style programming like Bandersnatch and through some licensing and merchandising partnerships. But in April, Netflix’s chief operating and product officer signaled that Netflix’s interest in gaming may be advancing.

“We’re trying to figure out what are all these different ways … we can deepen that fandom, and certainly games are a really interesting component of that,” Greg Peters said at the time. “There’s no doubt that games are going to be an important form of entertainment and an important modality to deepen that fan experience.”

As Netflix has grown, it has long pointed out that its competition extends beyond the traditional TV and movie companies that go head-to-head with it. The company has repeatedly called out gaming phenoms like Fortnite, as well as user-generated-video powerhouse YouTube, as some of its toughest competition for the massive collection of entertainment hours they command worldwide.

“We think the time is right to learn more about how our members value games,” the company said Tuesday.