Netflix to roll out ‘Shuffle Play’ feature globally this year

Netflix offers a wide range of different movies and TV shows to watch. But despite a sea of content we often find ourselves not being able to decide on what to watch. Netflix started testing ‘Shuffle Play’ last year to help solve this problem, and it’s now going to make this feature available globally.

Netflix during its Q4 earnings calls announced that it will broadly test a new feature that “gives members the ability to choose to instantly watch a title chosen just for them versus browse.” This feature will be available to all Netflix users globally within the first half of 2021. Netflix didn’t reveal the name of the feature as it’s still deciding on an official one. But it did confirm to TechCrunch that the feature is Shuffle Play.

Shuffle Play has been in testing since August last year, and for Netflix’s TV app. There’s a Shuffle Play button that appears just below the Netflix profiles. TechCrunch has also spotted the Shuffle Play button in the menu bar of Netflix on TV.

The feature’s description reads, “Try Shuffle Play. We’ll shuffle everything on Netflix and find things for you to watch based on your tastes.” Netflix already recommends movies and TV shows based on what you’ve watched or what you’re watching currently. It looks like Shuffle Play will work in a similar way since it will based on your preferences. But for your entire Netflix feed to shuffle it can be a refreshing way to explore different content.

Netflix had experimented with playing random episodes from TV shows. Selecting this feature plays any episode from a TV show. This feature would however work only on TV shows that don’t follow a chronological timeline.