Netflix CEO ‘Thrilled’ About Efforts Beyond Film, TV

Netflix first voiced an interest in using games to deepen its fan experience during an earnings call in April, and its plans to enter the market have progressed since.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said on Monday that he’s “thrilled” with the company’s efforts to move into gaming, tapping into a $173.7 billion market. 

The streaming service dipped its toes into gaming before but has picked up its efforts in recent months.

• A 2018 “Black Mirror” episode called “Bandersnatch” was a choose-your-own-adventure special and essentially one of Netflix’s first interactive games. It has since created a “Stranger Things” game with an outside developer.
• In May, a report from The Information said the company was looking for an executive to oversee its expansion into video games. By July, it hired former EA and Facebook executive Mike Verdu, who worked on “The Sims” and “Plants vs. Zombies” franchises.
• The same report said Netflix has considered selling an Apple Arcade-like bundle of games, and that its games would not feature advertisements.

While there’s no set timeframe for the company, multiple reports in July said the streaming platform wants to offer video games within the next year at no extra cost. 

The addition could boost Netflix’s subscriber base, which had one of its lowest quarterly showings in Q2 despite a 19.4% year-over-year revenue increase to $7.34 billion.