Netflix has officially acknowledged its entry into the gaming industry. Netflix confirmed this in its Q2 financial report, stating that it is still in the early phases of its game expansion. Greg Peters, Netflix’s COO and CPO, also revealed further information about its plans to introduce games to its platform.
Netflix intends to keep providing engaging experiences through gaming. It will expand on past similar content from shows like Black Mirror Bandersnatch and Stranger Things. Like original films, animation, and unscripted television, gaming is seen as a new content category by Netflix. Netflix has stated that it will first provide games on mobile devices to expand to other devices later. Netflix users will also be able to play these games for free. It did not say if gaming would be included in all of its subscription levels or just a few.
In a Q2 earnings interview, Netflix COO and CPO Greg Peters stated that the company’s entry into gaming would be more experimental at first, relying on user feedback. “We’re going to start small, learn, develop, and refocus our investment based on what we perceive is working. It’ll be a multi-year process. We’ll keep improving based on what our members tell us is effective,” Peters added.
According to Peters, Netflix’s subscription model can be more advantageous than present game monetization approaches. “We don’t have to worry about advertisements, in-game purchases, or other forms of monetization. We don’t have to worry about buying titles. We can continue to do what we’ve been doing on the movie and series front, which is to be hyper-focused on producing the most exciting game experiences possible,” Peters added.
Users will most likely not need to make any further purchases because the games will be included with Netflix subscription options. Game creators, according to Peters, “really enjoy that concept and focus, and the idea of focusing all of their creative energy on just amazing gameplay and not having to think about other factors that they normally had to trade-off with just developing compelling games.”
Netflix intends to provide various games through various techniques to determine how well they function for its members. The firm has yet to reveal what types of games it aims to provide or when it opens, although it will likely be as soon as next year.