Netflix has been dropping hints about an entry into the gaming market for months, and they appear to be much more than talk.
The streaming giant is reportedly seeking an executive to oversee its expansion into video games.
“We’re kind of in gaming now with ‘Bandersnatch’ and we have some very basic interactive things,” Netflix founder and co-CEO Reed Hastings said last month. ‘Bandersnatch’ was a special choose-your-own-adventure episode of “Black Mirror” released in 2018.
From a fiscal standpoint, Netflix is doing well.
- Revenue was up 24% year-over-year to $7.16 billion in Q1 2021.
- But the streaming service only added 3.98 million subscribers during the quarter, nowhere near the 6.2 million new subscribers it projected.
Netflix shares fell almost 11% in April, with the company attributing slower subscription growth to a lack of new content because of COVID-19’s effect on production schedules.
With 2.7 billion gamers worldwide, gaming could be the category that gets subscriptions back on track.
“There’s no doubt that games are going to be an important form of entertainment and important modality to deepen that fan experience, so we’re going to keep going,” COO and Chief Product Officer Greg Peters said on the company’s April earnings call.
Netflix has approached veteran video game industry executives about the new gaming role, according to The Information.
The same report said Netflix has considered selling an Apple Arcade-like bundle of games, and that its games would not feature advertisements.
