Last year Netflix put up a billboard on Los Angeles's Sunset Boulevard to poke fun at itself. It read: "Wait, Netflix Has Games?"
The company is working hard to clear up any confusion. It is deepening its push into the videogame industry, taking advantage of the studios it has acquired in the past two years to create more titles based on popular Netflix movies and TV shows.
Though Netflix has up to now focused on mobile games—which appeal to casual gamers and can be downloaded on a smartphone or tablet—it is taking steps to expand into higher-end games that can be streamed from TVs or PCs. That approach would put it up against giants such as Sony and Microsoft, which just closed its $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and would bring some significant technical challenges.
Over the next several months, Netflix subscribers will be able to play games on their mobile devices based on hits such as Korean thriller "Squid Game" and supernatural comedy "Wednesday," according to people familiar with the situation. Similarly, Netflix is discussing games based on "Extraction," its Sherlock Holmes series and its "Black Mirror" series, the people said.
Even as Netflix creates homegrown titles, it will continue to license the well-known games, from "Bloons TD 6" to "Classic Solitaire," that currently make up its catalog.
It has discussed plans to release a game within the popular action-adventure series "Grand Theft Auto" from Take-Two Interactive Software through a licensing deal, some of the people said.
Netflix doesn't generate revenue from its games. Subscribers can download them from the app at no extra charge. For now, games are part of a strategy to keep fans coming back to the streaming service even when their favorite shows are between seasons, helping to retain subscribers and attract new ones. Netflix, which reports quarterly results on Wednesday, added 5.9 million subscribers in the June quarter.
Netflix games have been downloaded 70.5 million times globally as of Sept. 20,up from 30.4 million last September, according to app tracker Apptopia. That is a fraction of the hundreds of millions of downloads for game companies such as Roblox and Activision, the publisher of the megahit "Candy Crush Saga." Fewer than 1% of Netflix's 238 m
Some Netflix executives were concerned that this approach might limit the kinds of games the company can offer: Action games would likely require a more traditional game controller, with protruding buttons. Netflix decided to opt for the phone approach, despite the limitations.
www.wsj.com
The company is working hard to clear up any confusion. It is deepening its push into the videogame industry, taking advantage of the studios it has acquired in the past two years to create more titles based on popular Netflix movies and TV shows.
Though Netflix has up to now focused on mobile games—which appeal to casual gamers and can be downloaded on a smartphone or tablet—it is taking steps to expand into higher-end games that can be streamed from TVs or PCs. That approach would put it up against giants such as Sony and Microsoft, which just closed its $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and would bring some significant technical challenges.
Over the next several months, Netflix subscribers will be able to play games on their mobile devices based on hits such as Korean thriller "Squid Game" and supernatural comedy "Wednesday," according to people familiar with the situation. Similarly, Netflix is discussing games based on "Extraction," its Sherlock Holmes series and its "Black Mirror" series, the people said.
Even as Netflix creates homegrown titles, it will continue to license the well-known games, from "Bloons TD 6" to "Classic Solitaire," that currently make up its catalog.
It has discussed plans to release a game within the popular action-adventure series "Grand Theft Auto" from Take-Two Interactive Software through a licensing deal, some of the people said.
Netflix doesn't generate revenue from its games. Subscribers can download them from the app at no extra charge. For now, games are part of a strategy to keep fans coming back to the streaming service even when their favorite shows are between seasons, helping to retain subscribers and attract new ones. Netflix, which reports quarterly results on Wednesday, added 5.9 million subscribers in the June quarter.
Netflix games have been downloaded 70.5 million times globally as of Sept. 20,up from 30.4 million last September, according to app tracker Apptopia. That is a fraction of the hundreds of millions of downloads for game companies such as Roblox and Activision, the publisher of the megahit "Candy Crush Saga." Fewer than 1% of Netflix's 238 m
Some Netflix executives were concerned that this approach might limit the kinds of games the company can offer: Action games would likely require a more traditional game controller, with protruding buttons. Netflix decided to opt for the phone approach, despite the limitations.
WSJ News Exclusive | Netflix Deepens Videogame Push, Ripping Page From Its Hollywood Script
The streamer is putting greater emphasis on developing games tied to popular programming, including “Squid Game,” “Wednesday” and “Black Mirror.”
www.wsj.com
