Netflix has been a household name when it comes to streaming movies and TV shows. However, in recent years, the company has been making strides in the gaming industry. In the past two years, Netflix has made gaming acquisitions and opened its own studios in Helsinki and California.
As of Monday, Netflix has a collection of 55 games, including new originals based on Netflix IPs and existing titles from other developers. The company plans to add 40 more this year. Additionally, there are 70 new games in development with gaming partners, plus 16 being developed in-house. These games span a variety of genres, which is an intentional strategy to appeal to a broad audience.
One of the most popular games on Netflix is "Too Hot to Handle: Love is a Game," which has been downloaded over one million times since its release in December. The game presents a dilemma for players to choose between two characters, tattooed musician Theo or confident web designer Dakota. "Too Hot to Handle" is just one of the many games that Netflix offers that are tied to IPs fans already know and love.
The Challenge of Customer Engagement
Despite offering fun games to its members at no additional cost, less than 1% of Netflix subscribers regularly engage with its games as of August, according to IGN. One of the reasons for this low engagement rate is that all of Netflix's games are mobile-based and not available on laptops and TVs, which consumers often use to browse Netflix.
Netflix has recognized this challenge and intends to develop a cloud gaming service for TVs and PCs. Amazon launched a similar service last year, and Netflix is just in the early stages of development for its own cloud gaming service.
While the company is relatively new to the gaming industry, it's hard to bet against Netflix. After all, the company was able to get 142 million households to watch people play a life-or-death version of "Red Light, Green Light" in its hit show "Squid Game."
Future Plans for Gaming Tie-ins and Microsoft's Move in the Gaming Industry
Netflix has big plans for its gaming tie-ins with popular shows like "The Queen's Gambit" and "Shadow and Bone." They're also planning a "Too Hot to Handle" sequel. The company's strategy is to appeal to a broad audience by offering games across a variety of genres.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has announced plans to launch a gaming app store for iOS and Android. However, this plan is contingent on its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. This move could give Microsoft a significant advantage in the gaming industry.
Overall, Netflix's push into the gaming industry is a smart move to appeal to a broader audience and provide more value to its subscribers. The company's plans for a cloud gaming service for TVs and PCs show that they're committed to improving customer engagement. With more exciting gaming tie-ins for popular shows in the works, Netflix's gaming future looks bright.
0 Comments