Will Netflix’s Gaming Push Pay Off?
By Movieguide® Contributor
During its Q2 report, Netflix executives explained how the company views its gaming leg and why it continues to push ahead into the video game market.
“You can think about Japan or India,” said Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters, explaining how the company is treating gaming similar to an international market. “We continually iterate. We refine our programming based on the signals we get from our members.”
Since launching in 2021, Netflix Games has released over 100 titles, with over 80 more currently in development. Though the company’s initial model revolved around re-releasing popular indie games like OXENFREE, Into the Breach, Moonlighter and Bloons TD 6, its strategy has since shifted to focusing on Netflix-branded titles such as THE QUEENS GAMBIT and TOO HOT TO HANDLE.
“Our opportunity to serve super fandom with games is really remarkable,” said co-CEO Ted Sarandos on an earnings call. “Being able to take a show and give the superfan a place to go in between seasons, and be able to use the game platform to introduce new characters and new storylines or new plot twist events: It’s a really great opportunity.”
The company doubled down on its Netflix-branded titles last year with the release of multiple interactive stories that take place in the worlds built by popular Netflix Originals. It has since ramped up production even more with plans to release a new story a month moving forward. It even launched a dedicated Netflix Stories app for further ease of access.
While Netflix has yet to release statistics about its gaming venture, third-party data suggests much of the business’ initial success can be credited to pre-existing IPs. For example, downloads spiked last holiday season when three Grand Theft Auto (GTA) games were added to the library.
“Heading into that holiday season of 2023 with the GTA releases, the Netflix catalogue was lucky to break three million monthly downloads,” said Appfigure’s head of insights, Randy Nelson, per Fast Company. “Since that massive marketing move, we haven’t seen monthly downloads below five million.”
Looking to reach its full audience, Netflix is also working to expand beyond mobile gaming by building games for smart TVs. It began testing this feature last summer and currently allows users to download a virtual controller onto their phones, though robust TV games are only currently available to a select group.
Even though the company is estimated to have only received 68 million downloads for all of its games in the three years since it launched, Netflix Games’s steady growth indicates it may be able to find a spot within the $193 billion gaming business.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Netflix is hoping that it can attract more users to the gaming side of the platform by turning more of its recognizable IPs into games.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Netflix is currently working on turning SQUID GAME and WEDNESDAY into games for its subscribers, with plans for EXTRACTION and BLACK MIRROR games later down the road.
These titles would join LOVE IS BLIND and THE QUEENS GAMBIT on Netflix’s game library, which has amassed over 70 titles since it launched at the end of 2020.
Some reports estimate that less than 1 percent of Netflix subscribers interact with the platform’s games on a daily basis. This statistic is troubling as the company has spent roughly $1 billion on its gaming service so far. With the addition of recognizable IPs, the platform hopes to drum up more interest from the 99 percent yet to try out the service.
While the gaming service has yet to take off, the company never expected a quick pickup from its subscribers. Similar to the New York Times, which has millions of daily users on its website’s games, such as Wordle and Spelling Bee, Netflix aims to cater to non-gamers through casual games.
