Back in 2019, when Netflix still ruled streaming, the company made a statement in a letter to shareholders that surprised even astute media commentators. Having previously stated that its goal was to become the next HBO, Netflix now said: “we compete with (and lose to) Fortnite more than we do with HBO.” It found itself in a competitive environment not only with TV companies, but also with all media vying for audience screen time. Then the games were the biggest threat. Today may be his savior.
Since then, Netflix has continued to take video games seriously, with many of its biggest shows such as The Witcher, Arcane, Castlevania, and Resident Evil tied to major gaming IPs. Then, in late 2021, it came full circle by launching Netflix Games, a modest offering of mobile games available to subscribers at no additional cost. There were few interesting headlines in the first six months. Even today, hardly anyone knows the service exists—less than 1% of Netflix users engage in gaming. Yet since June, Netflix has been rolling out a surprisingly ambitious lineup of games with a plan for 50 to be available by the end of the year.
It comes at a precarious time for the company, which has suffered significant declines in its stock price, cut hundreds of jobs and lost more than a million subscribers this year. Are these gaming offerings just a desperate attempt to maintain dominance in an increasingly competitive streaming market? Or does Netflix really have the goods to claim territory in gaming and retain subscribers – or even woo a new gaming audience?
The Netflix series ‘Arcane’ is based on the game world ‘League of Legends’ © Courtesy of Netflix
Netflix is not alone in trying to steer a successful technology platform into the lucrative gaming space. All of the “big four” tech companies—Apple, Amazon, Meta, Google—have made similar moves, as have platforms like TikTok and even Zoom. It’s a logical step, as games attract large, engaged audiences and often run for so many hours that they can offer a boost to the holy grail of technical metrics: “engagement time.”
The move also seems natural for Netflix, which pioneered the subscription streaming model now widely imitated in TV and movies. This subscription model is perhaps most influential in the world of mobile games, which were once a reliable source of innovation but have recently been tarnished by the rise of the “free-to-play” business model – which is full of predatory microtransactions and uses ethically questionable monetization strategies . Paying a monthly subscription allows developers to focus on creating quality gaming experiences instead of tempting players to part with even more money.
Naturally, this strategy will only work for Netflix if the games are good. There are currently 26 titles available on Android and iOS, most of which are casual games of little interest: Knittens is Candy Crush meets cute cats, Shooting Hoops is a weird exercise involving a basketball that is inexplicably attached to a gun, while Dominoes Café is literally just dominoes.
Netflix has two games based on ‘Stranger Things’
One of Netflix’s newest exclusives, Poinpy, is a different beast. This colorful game of collecting fruits to feed a murderous monster is charming, tense and surprisingly deep. Netflix has also brought acclaimed indie PC games to mobile devices, including Before Your Eyes, a game about grief and memory that you control by blinking, and Into the Breach, a cult hit strategy game that plays a bit like chess with aliens and robots. Then there are licensed games. Netflix already has two games based on Stranger Things, and in June announced upcoming titles based on Shadow and Bone, Money Heist, Too Hot to Handle, and The Queen’s Gambit.
With the acquisition of three game studios, including Night School, the creator of beloved indie title Oxenfree, and the announcement of upcoming artistic games, including Spiritfarer and Immortality, it’s clear that Netflix is taking its gambit seriously. The company remains tight-lipped about its overall strategy, but research firm Apptopia says Netflix games have been downloaded 23.3 million times. And while the 1 percent subscriber engagement figure may seem low, that still amounts to about 1.7 million daily users.
The Netflix Games offering isn’t enough to make it worth the full price of the subscription alone, but it can certainly sweeten the deal for those on the fence about whether to renew. It’s still early days, but it’s starting to show promise for a strong curatorial eye. In the meantime, any attempt to free mobile games from the shackles of microtransactions is welcome.
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