After proving its excellence as a top-rated streaming platform, Netflix has now set eyes on video games. With tech giants like Microsoft and Facebook investing in luring gamers and streamers, the streaming giant plans to do the same. Netflix is striving to break the traditional video streaming market, probably to play content diversification in the competitive US market. In recent years, the company leaped and came out with kids programming to expand the consumer base. Besides, the collection of top-rated Tv shows, movies, and documentaries have kept Netflix ahead of its competitors, including Disney+ and HBO Max.
Netflix Proposed Development Team
According to Bloomberg, Mike Verdu will join the gaming project as Vice-President. Verdu seems the right hire in terms of experience. He worked as the Vice-President of the virtual reality product innovations at Facebook, especially to bring games to Oculus devices.
Before being involved with Facebook, he also worked at EA to develop console and mobile games. Some of his franchise projects include Sims, Star Wars, and Plants vs. Zombies. In addition, he also handled the responsibilities as Chief Creative Officer at Zynga for three years.
Verdu seems to be the perfect candidate for building gaming franchises at Netflix. Besides, the hunt is on for the development team, as evident in the jobs section of the streaming giant.
Will Netflix charge separately for the video games?
Well, there have not been any official statements regarding the subscription requirements or charges for the game. According to a source that talked with Bloomberg, the company does not intend to do so. Well, the plan is to bring those games within a year as a charge-free new category.
The move is solely dedicated to luring more consumers into Netflix along with keeping native users more engaged. Tech giants like Facebook and Apple adopted a similar strategy of including gaming options in the past for the same purpose.
Netflix’s history with games
Netflix started the journey of licensing games, probably with “Stranger Things”. The streaming giant collaborated with Finland-based Next Games to launch the game, which was based on the popular Netflix series of the same name. The game is available on gaming platforms from Xbox to PlayStation.
Netflix has transformed the side hustle into serious business. Undoubtedly, the objective will be to develop patented games alongside other popular games.
With high-end console and PC games around, Netflix games will definitely have a hard time gaining a significant amount of revenue and reputation. However, the streaming giant can intensify the audience engagement. Moreover, cost-free games can be a good way to justify future pricing modifications.
Given the growth and contributions of the company, the extension towards gaming services seems natural and appropriate.
Large entertainment companies have attempted to franchise the gaming world. The idea worked for companies like Warner Bros. Still, Disney failed despite a decade of efforts to pursue gaming their own franchises.
The preparations of the streaming giant look reliable since the engagement of the EA and Facebook veteran. Well, we still have to wait a year for that or maybe more. It will not be like a huge collection of games at the beginning. Moreover, Netflix may come out with some limited applications and build on them later.
Read other articles on Netflix:
