Sling TV streaming service owned by DISH was announced today launching its new gaming platform called “Stoa”, featuring classic arcade games such as Tetris, Wheel of Fortune, Sweet Sugar, Solitaire Clash, Poker Online and Doodle Jump, among others.
Specifically, the experience is free for Sling TV and Sling Freestream customers, and they can play games while simultaneously watching live TV content — providing entertainment during commercial breaks. Sling TV also allows users to extend the Arcade lineup to the home screen for a more immersive gaming experience. Meanwhile, Netflix and YouTube’s gaming offerings are only for paid subscribers.
Sling TV says 10 games will be available at launch, with new titles added regularly. The current selection is thanks to Sling’s partnership with Play.Works, a connected TV game provider that distributes games to more than 200 million TVs and has partnered with several major TV companies such as Comcast, Cox, Samsung, Vizio and others. Sling didn’t say whether it would partner with other gaming companies to expand its gaming library, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it did. (We’ve reached out to the company for comment.) There’s also a chance that Sling could acquire independent studios and developers. When Netflix launched games in 2021, the streaming giant went shopping as part of its gaming push, acquiring six companies to help build its collection of titles.
“Sling is now more than just TV,” said Gary Schanman, group president of DISH Video Services, in an official statement. “We want people to enjoy their entertainment as much as we do. The new Arcade offering combines some great classic games with our great TV programmes. No other streaming platform gives you access to more entertainment options for free.”
In recent years, Sling has struggled to retain subscribers, but Arcade could set the streamer apart from competitors by offering unique and interactive entertainment to users. Plate, which recently merged with EchoStar, mentionted loss of 65,000 Sling TV subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2023, bringing the total to 2.06 million. It lost 77,000 subscribers in the same period last year.
Arcade is currently only on Amazon Fire TV and Android TV. Sling will add support for more devices soon.
