Netflix is getting into gaming. The company’s new letter to shareholders in the second quarter appears to confirm reports from last week that the streaming giant is expanding into more interactive entertainment by providing the first real-life details on its gaming strategy.
In the letter published before it was published Results report Q2 On Tuesday, Netflix announced that games were becoming a new category of content for the service alongside movies, TV series and reality programming. Netflix’s games are initially focused on mobile devices and like all other content in the service, are included in the subscription price and mainly focus on the existing Netflix IP. The games will also not contain any in-game ads or in-game purchases. according to Netflix COO Greg Peters
It’s worth noting that while this step has been in the works for a while, it comes at an interesting time for Netflix. Last quarter, the streaming service missed the expected growth figureswith poor content cited as one of the main reasons. Meanwhile, Netflix reported in Tuesday’s earnings report that it lost 400,000 subscribers in the US and Canada this quarter. This is the first time since Q2 2019 that it has lost subscribers in the region, although it has since gained 7.5 million subscribers in the two countries.
The letter states that since it has been nearly a decade since Netflix first got on the original programming, “we think the time has come to learn more about how our members value games”. In other words, the company views its gaming ambitions as an experiment, or a potential way to amplify subscriber drops through weaker original content, should the company experience it in the future. While mobile games may not have the same buzz as a big new show, they could give subscribers plenty of reasons to stay around and not cancel their subscription, especially if those games are tied to Netflix shows that subscribers already love .
While it remains to be seen whether or not Netflix can enter the mobile game market, it is already clear that its members value games very much. In fact, in a 2019 profit letter, Netflix said that the streaming service’s main competitors weren’t networks like HBO, but video games like. be Fourteen days
According to a study by the SPD, Mobile platforms are currently the most popular in the world, especially after the tremendous growth in both the US and Canada in 2020. And that’s even more compelling for other regions. Netflix’s profit letter said Asia and the Pacific (APAC) accounted for two-thirds of the growth last quarter. These are regions where mobile gaming is very popular, such as: Countries like India.
Whatever the bigger reasons, Netflix’s foray into gaming is an opportunity for the company to go beyond its current original programming. Of course, since the experiment is just beginning, it may be a few more years before we and Netflix see if its games will be successful.
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