In a recent interview with Axios, the head of Netflix Games, Mike Verdu, discussed Netflix’s gaming strategy, some of their plans, and where they stand regarding their results so far, so let’s discuss.
“Netflix doesn’t make a lot of big bets. The company has been patient about those bets and put in the work to get it right, and this is one of those. It’s not, you know, put your finger in and dabble a bit. You make a commitment, and you do it right,” stated Mr. Verdu in the interview.
What’s interesting about such a comment is how much truth there is when you compare Netflix’s time and investment into their games commitment compared to other Netflix divisions. For example, Netflix acquired comic publisher Millarworld in 2017, but didn’t adapt any of the comics until 2021. Their investment in Netflix Animation is similar, as the studio was formed in 2018 and is only now creating content that is catching the cultural zeitgeist.
Mr. Verdu also went on to state when asked about player numbers on Netflix Games. “We’re really pleased with the traction that we’ve had so far. Members are discovering games, they’re enjoying them, and the number of people playing them is growing”. Unlike other services like Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Plus, Apple Arcade, etc. is the fact Netflix Games is included as part of Netflix so as more people subscribe to Netflix (which sits at almost 250 million subscribers) then the number of people who have access to the games grows too.
“We’re not going to do a giant marketing campaign to say games are on Netflix, why? because the games live inside of Netflix, which has a huge distribution footprint, for sure. The key is to connect our members with the games that they will enjoy, and it doesn’t have to come all at once” stated Mr. Verdu. This is an interesting take as Netflix isn’t really launching a new product or platform, they are just adding games as a form of content, which already has almost a quarter-billion subscribers. Not to mention Netflix has been able to get fans to market content for them, so adapting games based on pre-established Netflix IPs like Stranger Things, Money Heist, and Squid Game would require very little in the way of a marketing budget.
Netflix has been busy building out its gaming offerings since launching them in 2021 which included building two game studios as well as acquiring four studios (including Night School Studio). We’ve seen Netflix launch almost 90 games so far, and we’ve also seen Netflix work on a cloud gaming beta to bring video games to smart TVs.
Have you played any of the games on Netflix? We’d love to know! As always, remember to follow us on our social media sites such as X (Twitter), Threads and Facebook to keep up with the latest news.
