Streaming has already changed the way we watch television, and Gamestar+ is hoping to change the way we interact with game shows. The new “interactive streaming social gaming platform” has teamed up with Family Feud to bring the beloved game show to fans’ homes in a new way. The Family Feud game, featuring host and co-founder Steve Harvey, will be available only at Target stores across the country on March 1.
“I am so excited that we will be able to open up Family Feud and many other titles to people who are not able to become contestants on our show,” Steve Harvey, Family Feud host and Gamestar+ co-founder, told PopCulture.com in a press statement.
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The Gamestar+ platform brings Netflix convenience and the social component of board games together. It includes a physical board game alongside an interactive streaming component. The company also has licensing deals with Jeopardy!, Deal or No Deal, and Scene It?, with hosts Mario Lopez and Ken Jennings among the talent participating in the games. The company, which calls its product the “Netflix of Game Night,” also has content deals with Sony, Paramount Global, Disney, MGA, Freemantle, and others. “Gamestar+’s next generation of streaming game content is designed for the whole family to enjoy together, catering to modern consumer expectations and delivering an exceptional social experience at home, at work, or on the go,” a statement from the company reads.
“With the launch of Family Feud, we are bringing much-needed innovation to the board game category that hasn’t changed since we reinvented the Social Experience with an Interactive DVD over 20 years ago,” Gamestar+ CEO Shane Yeend said. “With Gamestar+, we saw an opportunity to take what we have learned from popular streaming services Spotify and Hulu and apply it to family game night,” COO Todd Young added. Harvey, who co-founded Gamestar+, said he hoped the platform would “open up” Family Feud and other games for those who cannot go to California to be on the real show.
During an AMA session earlier this month, Young explained that the Gamestar+ team hopes their platform can bring “genuinely social games” and revive “the game nights we all know and love” in the streaming world. “Our vision for Gamestar is to be the Netflix of game night. At this point, pretty much any device can stream Netflix,” Young said. “However, unlike classic video games useful as entertainment vehicles, they create antisocial behavior and pull people out of the real world. So what we wanted to do is bring the genuinely social games, the game nights we all know and love, and where meaningful interactions between friends and family can happen with ease to your devices.”
Family Feud will be the first title, then Gamestar+ plans to release Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! games. The Family Feud game will retail for $19.99 at Target.
