Netflix recently unveiled its initial efforts in gaming which will be first focused on mobile games. The games will be included with users’ Netflix subscriptions, the company announced as part of its second-quarter earnings report on Tuesday.
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Here is exactly what Netflix said about gaming, from its letter to investors:
We’re also in the early stages of further expanding into games, building on our earlier efforts around interactivity (eg, Black Mirror Bandersnatch) and our Stranger Things games. We view gaming as another new content category for us, similar to our expansion into original films, animation, and unscripted TV. Games will be included in members’ Netflix subscription at no additional cost similar to films and series. Initially, we’ll be primarily focused on games for mobile devices. We’re excited as ever about our movies and TV series offering and we expect a long runway of increasing investment and growth across all of our existing content categories, but since we are nearly a decade into our push into original programming, we think the time is right to learn more about how our members value games.
It’s still unclear about the details on what types of games will actually be available, though Netflix recently extended its TV deal with Shonda Rhimes to include feature films and gaming content. There’s also no word on how games will be delivered to Netflix subscribers via mobile as the company plans. And the company has already dipped its toes into gaming with experiences like Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.
The company has acknowledged in the past that it competes with games for time and attention, with co-CEO Reed Hastings writing that “we compete with (and lose to) Fortnite more than HBO” in 2019. COO Greg Peters discussed the company’s interest in games in April (PDF) as part of its first-quarter earnings.
