Following last week's report that Netflix is adding video games to its roster, the streaming giant has now confirmed its switch to gaming in its Q2021 XNUMX earnings report, offering some details on what we can do next. Wait in the process. Citing previous efforts in interactive content, such as Black Mirror Bandersnatch and its retro-inspired Stranger Things games, Netflix says it is now in the "early stages of expanding into games," stating "We view gaming as another new category of content for us, similar to our expansion into original feature films, animation, and unscripted television." According to Netflix, subscribers will have access to its game offerings "at no additional cost similar to movies and series." As to why Netflix is eager to jump into the game, the letter to shareholders simply explained that “given that we are nearly a decade into our drive toward original programming, we believe the time has come to do so. Learn more about how our members are enjoying gaming. "
How Netflix Could Revolutionize Mobile Gaming
As revealed in an accompanying video interview on Q2021 XNUMX results, Netflix COO and COO Greg Peters explained that the company will "focus primarily on mobile gaming" and that "this It will be a multi-year effort that we will start relatively." small. Peters says that Netflix plans to focus on their original IP addresses to differentiate themselves from what everyone else is offering. "We're creating these amazing worlds and these amazing stories and characters, and we know that fans of these stories want to dig deeper," Peters said. One thing gamers won't have to worry about is ads. Peters explains, "We also believe our subscription model provides opportunities to focus on a set of gaming experiences that currently don't have these dominant in-game monetization models." . He continued: "We don't have to think about ads, we don't have to think about in-game purchases or other monetizations, we don't have to think about buying titles, we can really have been doing on the movies and series side, which which is really fair, hyper laser focused on delivering the most entertaining gaming experiences we can." “We found that a lot of game developers really like this concept and this approach and this idea of being able to put all of your creative energy into great gameplay and not have to worry about the other considerations that you normally have to trade off. with. just make cool games.
Long-term Netflix games
When it comes to his long-term plans, Peters made it clear that mobile is just a starting point when it comes to gaming and that “at the end of the day, we look at all the devices we currently serve as one. experience.” Based on these words, we can surmise that Netflix intends to bring games to consoles and even smart TVs in the future, depending on where subscribers gravitate towards, which has been hinted at in the following statement. “We are going to testing a bunch of different games across a variety of different mechanics to see what really works for our members." So far, we really like what we're hearing about Netflix's game plans, especially when it comes to ditching the mechanics pay-to-win that more or less ruined the once-promising mobile gaming scene.