Netflix to offer games on mobile devices first, and at no additional cost

Streaming giant Netflix has officially confirmed its expansion into gaming. Netflix confirmed this in its Q2 earnings report where it says that it is currently in the early stages of expanding into games. Netflix COO and CPO Greg Peters also shared more details about the company’s plans of introducing games on its platform.

Netflix plans to continue its offering of interactive experiences with gaming. It will build on previous similar content such as Black Mirror Bandersnatch and Stranger Things games. The streaming giant also views gaming as a new content category just like it offered original films, animation and unscripted TV. Netflix said it will offer games on mobile devices first, and it plans on expanding on more devices later. These games will also be offered at no additional cost to Netflix subscribers. It did not reveal though if gaming will be bundled in all its subscription plans or only on select ones.

Netflix COO and CPO Greg Peters in the company’s Q2 earnings interview said the expansion into gaming will initially be more experimental, and reliant on user feedback. “It’s a multi-year effort, we’re going to start relatively small, we’ll learn, we’ll grow, we’ll refocus our investment based on what we see is working. We’ll just continuously improve based on what our members are telling us is working,” Peters said.

Peters added that Netflix’s subscription model can prove more beneficial than existing monetisation models in games. “We don’t have to think about ads, we don’t have to think about in-game purchases or other monetisation. We don’t have to think about title purchases. We can do what we’ve been doing on the movie and series side which is just hyper, laser-focused on delivering the most entertaining game experiences that we can,” Peters said.

Since the games will be offered with the Netflix subscription plans, users will most likely not have to make additional purchases. Peters also highlighted that this works for game developers too as they “really like that concept and focus and the idea of putting all of their creative energy into just great gameplay and not having to worry about other considerations that they typically had to trade-off with just making compelling games.”

Netflix plans to offer a bunch of games, and through different mechanisms and see how it works for its subscribers. The company is yet to share details on the kind of games it plans to offer, and when it will launch but it’s expected to debut as early as next year.





SEE ALSO -
PolicyBazaar plans to raise close to $870 million through its IPO at a likely valuation of $3.5 billion
Samsung to unveil Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip foldable smartphones at its August 11 Galaxy Unpacked event