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Netflix wins when people binge-watch shows, and now the company is hoping people will do the same with video games as it looks to expand its offerings even further.
Co-CEO Gregory Peters said last week that Netflix wants to continue expanding its involvement in gaming over the next few years “to the point where it can have a material impact on our business.”
| Ticker | safety | last | change | change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NFLX | NETFLIX Inc. | 642.76 | -4.74 | -0.73% |
During its second-quarter earnings call, the streaming giant detailed efforts to beef up its video game business, including a new release cadence for its interactive fiction game “Netflix Stories” and the launch of a multiplayer game inspired by “Squid Games.” The company began branching out into the gaming business with mobile games about three years ago.
During its second-quarter earnings call, Netflix detailed some of the efforts it’s making to strengthen its video game business. (Mario Tama/Getty Images/File)
Netflix said it plans to unveil new “Netflix Stories” games every month, which feature original content from streaming services. The company said this release pattern will begin this month, with a new season of the game inspired by the hit series “Emily in Paris” releasing in August and “Selling Sunset” coming soon.
The cast of Emily in Paris attends a special screening of season 3 on December 15, 2022 in New York City. (Nina Westervelt/Variety via Getty Images)
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Meanwhile, Netflix announced that it will “premiere a multiplayer game based on the Squid Game universe later this year, coinciding with the launch of the second season of our biggest TV series ever,” in which users will “compete against other players in games from the hit series,” the company previously said.
“The Squid Game” is poised to become Netflix’s biggest hit ever. (Netflix)
Speaking about the company’s gaming opportunity, co-CEO Ted Sarandos said, “It’s pretty rare to see these new content areas that actually complement and influence each other.”
“The idea of giving passionate fans a place to come together between and after seasons of a show – using a gaming platform to introduce new characters, new storylines, new plot twists – is something we can now do, and bring to life in subsequent seasons and movie sequels,” he added. “This is a really amazing opportunity, a rare opportunity where one plus one equals three, to replicate some of the success we’ve seen with fandom building, with live events and with consumer products – this fits right in there.”
Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos (Dia Dipaspil/Getty Images/File)
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Netflix currently has more than 80 games in development as part of its ongoing, iterative approach to gaming, which will be added to the more than 100 games Netflix has already rolled out and made available through subscriptions to the streaming service.
BMO Capital Markets analyst Brian Pitts argued in a July 19 research report that the gaming industry is worth $150 billion, making it an “underappreciated medium-term opportunity” for Netflix.
“We applaud the accelerated investment in gaming content given the deep IP synergies, increased overall engagement and attractive unit economics,” he wrote.
During its second-quarter earnings call, Netflix detailed some of the efforts it’s making to strengthen its video game business. (Illustration by Rafael Enrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Netflix announced on Tuesday that former Epic Games executive vice president of game development Alan Tuscan will join the company as its new president of games, in a latest move to strengthen its gaming business.
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Netflix has said it wants to make games available on TVs and PCs in addition to mobile in the long term, and the streaming giant has been working to make that happen through tests in several markets in recent months.
The company’s shares have risen 50% over the past year, giving it a market capitalization of $275.85 billion.
