Netflix wins when viewers binge its shows. Now it is hoping they'll do the same with video games as it looks to further scale those offerings.
Co-CEO Gregory Peters said last week that Netflix wants to "continue to grow" engagement in its gaming "to the place where it has a material impact on the business" in the coming years.
The streaming giant detailed some of its efforts to boost its video game business as it released its second-quarter earnings, including a new cadence of releases for its "Netflix Stories" interactive fiction games and publishing a "Squid Games"-inspired multiplayer game. It started venturing into gaming with mobile games roughly three years ago.
For its "Netflix Stories" games that draw on the streamer’s original content, Netflix said it was moving to debuting a new game each month. That release pattern is beginning this month, with games inspired by the popular series "Emily in Paris," its new season drops in August, and "Selling Sunset," coming soon, according to the company.
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Meanwhile, Netflix said it will "premiere a multiplayer game based on the Squid Game universe later this year timed to the launch of season two of our biggest TV series ever." In it, users will "compete with other players in games from the hit series," the company previously said.
Speaking about the company’s opportunity in gaming, co-CEO Ted Sarandos said it was "pretty rare for the new content vertical like this to actually complement or draft off of each other."
"I think the idea of being able to take a show and give the superfan a place to be in between seasons and even beyond that – to be able to use the game platform to introduce new characters and new storylines or new plot twist events – now you could do those kind of things, and then they can then materialize in the next season or in the sequel to the film," he added. "It’s a really great opportunity and a rare one where 1 and 1 equals 3 here, and to kind of replicate some of the success we’ve seen building fandom and with live events and consumer products, this actually fits really nicely into that."
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More than 80 games are being built by Netflix at the moment as part of its ongoing, highly iterative approach to gaming. Those games are expected to add to the more than 100 already rolled out by Netflix and available through its streaming service subscriptions.
BMO Capital Markets analyst Brian Pitz argued in a July 19 research note that gaming had a total addressable market of $150 billion and represented an "underappreciated medium-term opportunity" for Netflix.
"We applaud an acceleration of game content investment, given deep IP synergies, incrementality to overall engagement, and attractive unit economics," he wrote.
In another move to bolster its gaming efforts, Netflix on Tuesday announced that former Epic Games Executive Vice President of Game Development Alain Tascan was coming on board as the new president of games.
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Netflix has said over the long term it wants to bring its games to TVs and computers in addition to mobile, something the streaming giant has been pursuing through tests in a handful of markets in recent months.
The company’s stock has climbed 50% in the past year, helping it reach a market capitalization of $275.85 billion.
