Netflix Invests in Games

Netflix is looking forward to attracting new customers by introducing video games to its subscribers. This will mark its biggest move this year beyond TV shows and films. Besides, Mike Verdu will be joining Netflix as the game development vice president and would be reporting to Greg Peters, the Chief Operating Officer. Verdu was previously working as Facebook’s vice president, where he worked together with developers to bring new games.

The main idea of investing in games on Netflix is to grow as well as bring in new customers to the platform; whether they like free spins games or simply video games. Apparently, Netflix will start offering mobile games to all its subscribers free of charge, in order to add value to its clients.

During the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Netflix saw a sharp slowdown in its growth even though most people were spending more time at home. Therefore, to counteract this slowdown, Netflix announced that it would be investing in games on July 20. Actually, they have started working on two Android titles: Stranger Things 1984 and Stranger Things 3 back in Poland.

Netflix’s Gaming Strategy

According to Peters, the company will learn, grow, and refocus its investment based on what is working with the games. Besides, he noted that Netflix would not ignore user-based decisions, but instead, they will use them as a guide to not only make better games but also make creative decisions. For this game idea to succeed, then Netflix has to bring in nothing but great games. Perhaps this is the reason why they choose video games as one of their first non-video-related business projects.

Imagine a game that features a character from a show that you have just watched? That would be an amazing thing to happen to the entertainment industry, seeing video games and TV shows forming one unit. Peters noted that the company would license those games just as they have done for their TV shows and movies.

Besides, he also mentioned that he knows that their fans want to explore and engage further. They want to interact in a universe that gives them enough time to explore, something that would be considered deeply when creating the games.

However, it is worth noting that gaming would not be an independent driver of revenue for the company any time soon. But they certainly hope that what worked for the video would also work for gaming.

Is Netflix Investing in Games a Good Idea?

For starters, video games and watching movies are two different activities. If someone wants to watch something on TV, then they want to be passive. But if they want to play games, then they want to be active. Netflix is mostly a passive platform, which means that mixing it with the active part seems difficult.

Furthermore, Netflix has majored in producing and distributing series and movies. And we all know that dipping their toes on the gaming industry would require different skills. Besides, some companies have tried entering the video game market only to fallout. But will Netflix fail? Well, we will have to wait and see.

 

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