Netflix To “Ramp Up” Investment In Gaming, As Company Addresses Further “Monetization” Possibilities

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Netflix intends to significantly increase its financial commitment towards gaming, following earlier scaling-down of its aspirations within the AAA gaming market and closing a game development studio led by Halo veteran Joe Staten.

During a recent earnings discussion, Netflix’s co-CEO, president, and director Greg Peters discussed their plans for gaming. He noted that compared to what they invest in movies, TV shows, and live sports, their current investment in gaming has been quite modest. However, he emphasized that the potential for expansion is substantial.

The speaker explained that when it comes to earning money from games, we should approach it in a way similar to how we’ve tackled other new content categories like scripted shows or films. Essentially, if we can provide greater value to our users, this leads to increased user acquisition, retention, and willingness to pay. This, in turn, strengthens the core aspects of our business.

Peters noted that Netflix has seen favorable outcomes after putting money into gaming. Yet, he emphasized that Netflix’s gaming investment is still a minor portion compared to its total business, and the number of individuals using Netflix for gaming is likewise limited. In the year 2022, it was discovered that an overwhelming 99% of Netflix users did not engage in playing Netflix games; however, this data was gathered prior to the arrival of Grand Theft Auto on Netflix.

Peters mentioned that Netflix intends to exercise caution when it comes to investing in gaming. The objective, as he explained, is to avoid over-investment until Netflix can prove it can generate “value for our subscribers.

The speaker mentioned that they have made significant strides, as you are aware, in licensed games such as GTA. Similarly, they have advanced with self-developed games like Squid Game: Unleashed. Therefore, expect more from us in both these categories, along with a fresh assortment of interactive experiences that we believe we are particularly well-suited to produce. In short, we’re thrilled to introduce these new offerings over the coming year.

At present, Netflix’s video games come as part of your streaming service subscription, and they don’t feature ads or additional purchases (microtransactions). It’s been speculated that Netflix might explore other methods for generating income from these games in the future, but no concrete plans have been announced. Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-CEO, mentioned that the company is open to changing their monetization strategy for games, but emphasized that they need to significantly increase their user base before this becomes a significant issue. Therefore, they plan to focus on growing their user base first.

In the end, Peters emphasized that the overall market size for gaming, referred to as TAM or Total Addressable Market, is incredibly vast, implying a tremendous possibility for expansion and income increase. Peters went on to say, “We continue to be optimistic about our strategic potential and eager to advance further.

Additionally, during the meeting, Netflix executives mentioned that the company is still allocating resources towards creating “engrossing, story-driven games using our own intellectual property.” For instance, Black Mirror’s seventh season introduced a game called Thronglets (mentioned in the episode “Plaything”), while Squid Game: Unleashed received fresh content related to the recently premiered Season 3.

Netflix is now concentrating on four primary categories for its future game library: social/party games, children’s games, story-driven games, and mainstream games. These games will be designed for mobile devices and can be played on TVs via Netflix’s streaming technology, but they won’t be available on Xbox or PlayStation consoles.

Netflix has been experimenting with streaming games onto your television or computer for quite some time now, alongside developing mobile games.

Essentially, Alain Tascan, the head of Netflix gaming, compared their approach to that of a musician learning their craft. They begin by imitating a few things, but eventually, they will discover their unique style or voice. He doesn’t have a specific timeline for this discovery, but he is optimistic about them finding their own voice in the gaming industry.

Netflix closed its AAA game studio, previously working on the project titled Staten, Tascan clarified, and this decision does not imply a lack of interest in creating large-scale, ambitious games. Rather, the type of games the studio was developing did not align with Netflix’s gaming platform.

He mentioned that the team was exceptionally skilled in their tasks, however, our collaboration might not have been the ideal platform for them to fully showcase their abilities and proficiency.

It was recently revealed that a live-action television series based on Assassin’s Creed, which has been under development for five years, has finally received approval from Netflix.

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2025-07-18 17:09