In December of last yearo Netflix surprised us by launching its own video game section within the mobile app of this on-demand content platform.
And it seems that the big N is going to bet very strongly on the gaming sector. We know that they have recently bought several video game development companies, and now we have learned about the expansion plans for the VOD service, and that it could include the arrival of the first Netflix games available in the app for Smart TV.
Netflix is clear that video games are the future
Or this is what emerges from an article published by Washington Post and in which their sources affirm that Netflix wants to bet very heavily on the video game sector.
“Netflix’s wild entry into gaming was an indication that it needs to look beyond streaming video to keep its business going.”said Joost van Dreunen, a professor of gaming business at New York University’s Stern School of Business. «Announcement of Exploding Kittens release across multiple categories shows Netflix’s willingness to try new things, but it’s not the kind of release that’s going to save the farm.”. They indicate from The Washington Post.
The streaming giant saw Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard, valued at $68.7 billion, as well as Sony’s purchase of Bungie as clear indicators that the video game industry is changing. And Netflix wants its piece of the pie.
«We’ve been doing these little acquisitions to build the know-how and creative chops to be able to make some really big profits.Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said during Tuesday’s earnings call. We know that Netflix has bought three different companies. On the one hand, Texas-based Boss Fight Entertainment and Finnish developer Next Games in March, as well as Night School Studio in September 2021.
Netflix plans to release games for other platforms
We know that the on-demand content platform intends to make the most of its most successful sagas. Just as they did with Stranger Things, which has several games in the Netflix catalog, they are also interested in The Witcher and Castlevania among others. For example, Netflix has marked a “League of Legends” spin-off game made by a third-party developer, Choice Provisions, as a Netflix mobile game.
Netflix’s plan is to stick to mobile games for now, as he begins to explore the gaming world, according to the source familiar with his plans. But, although the company’s intention is to launch 50 mobile games by the end of the year, it is the beginning of its roadmap.
It should be remembered that Recently Netflix has hired Leanne Loombe, head of external games at Netflix, she joined last November after working at Riot Games as director and executive producer. Also joining is Mike Verdu, Netflix’s vice president of gaming, who previously ran Facebook’s virtual reality division and was an executive at Electronic Arts. Lastly, we have Amir Rahimi was formerly President of Games at mobile gaming company Scopely and is now Vice President of Game Studios, working for Verdu.
Three “stars” of the gaming sector and whose objective is to reach other devices. So, taking into account that in the future they want to expand to other devices, it is likely that sooner rather than later the first games for the app for Smart TV will begin to be available (you could use the remote control to play), in addition to other platforms such as Xbox Series or PS5.
