Netflix is for movies and TV, Game Pass is for video games, right? Easy. I don’t expect to be able to read e-books via a Spotify subscription, and I don’t expect Hello Fresh to send me movies. That’s why I always forget that Netflix already has a ton of games (96!) with another 80 in development.
As discovered by EurogamerNetflix recently Earnings Report (pdf) The company says it has more than 80 new games in development, planning to release one per month over the next six and a half years. The question is, will they be games we want to play?
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Netflix’s current collection certainly includes some utter duds, but it also includes some of the best games of all time. Seriously. GTA Vice City and San Andreas There you have it! Hades! Dead cells! Kentucky Route Zero, The World of Goo, The Golden Idol IncidentAnd one of my top 5 games of all time, Oxenfree. OK, grand theft auto game Not the best versionBut if you have a Netflix subscription, at least it won’t cost you anything.
The main confusion is how Actually playing these games. I never really cared because I always assumed these games would be loaded through Netflix and played in a laggy stream on an app on my TV that just wasn’t made for that task. But that’s not the case. These are all mobile games, so although you can find them in the Netflix app on your device, they are installed directly from the Google Play Store or iOS Store and work just like any other mobile game. That is, as I’ve just realized, Oxenfree II, Towards a breakthroughand Moonlighter Now I play on my tablet! Did I do something stupid?
Apparently I’m not alone, as Netflix co-CEO Gregory K. Peters explained during an earnings call that while Netflix has surpassed some of its internal goals with gaming, it’s still pretty small. He said it’s worth noting that “at our current scale, the engagement and its impact on our overall business is still pretty small,” as is “the level of investment in gaming relative to our overall content spend.” He added that “our job is to continue to grow that engagement to the point where it has a substantive impact on our business.”
So the games aren’t making a difference, but he hopes they are. Many of the 80 games he mentions seem to be designed to accompany upcoming franchises, or tie-in projects. Or, in corporate jargon:
We’re refining the program to add more to what’s working well with over 80 games currently in development, but what’s really working is giving members games based on the specific Netflix IP they love.
The focus here is on “interactive narrative games,” which he describes (perhaps unfortunately for many developers) as “easy to build.” These projects will be rolled into something called Netflix Stories and will get more traction within the app, presumably to drive people who watch the shows to related games.
Netflix has been funding some great indie games for the last few years, but it seems like they’re changing direction a bit. These one games a month are Emily in Parisand Selling Sunsetoh yeah. Well, let’s not judge. They might be great, right?
Netflix is doing all of this at the “instructions” of its users, but given the company’s terrible job of clearly communicating that it’s offering a ton of great games for free, with no ads and no extra fees, I think this was a self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s far more likely to have been embraced by casual viewers looking for casual games, and that’s a credit to them and their fans. Stranger Things Match 3 is far more likely to be noticed by people who don’t play the game than they might be aware that they do. Dead cells On your mobile phone.
This is a great opportunity for indie developers to take on the job of creating games. Wednesday Dance games, or The Bridgertons cut the ropeAnd then use that income to pursue a passion project, which may not be a continuation of the experiment in funding great projects that was the highlight of the past three years.
Still, at least I remembered that I didn’t have to pay $25. GTA San Andreas Definitive Edition You can play it on your tablet using the link in the Netflix app (but keep in mind that not all games are playable on Android).
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