The streaming service’s current library boasts only a handful of original titles, with many games being ports of mobile games. They also recently ported the indie gem Oxenfree over to the app when they acquired the game’s developer, Night School Studios. While currently working on a sequel, Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals, Night School Studios is presumably also developing one or more of the promised 55 new Netflix games titles. As are all five studios currently owned by Netflix.
But Netflix aren’t content with acquiring existing studios, they are also planning to open their own. Chacko Sonny, a former producer at both Activision and Santa Monica Studio is set to open a brand-new studio for them in California. He is hoping that streaming games may finally take off with giants like Netflix taking the helm.
Could we soon see Netflix expand beyond the mobile games market?
Cloud Gaming
In related news, Netflix are “seriously exploring” venturing into cloud gaming. Despite a recent report revealing that less than 1% of subscribers have actually played any of Netflix’s current games, the company sees gaming as a lucrative business and hopes to get in on the action.
Even though previous attempts at viable cloud gaming, such as Onlive and, much more recently, Google Stadia, have not fared well – shutting down forever after failing to secure enough players – Netflix hopes they might do better. And as the company has already cracked the code to tv and movie streaming and climbed to the top of the streaming ladder, they may have an advantage those others did not.
So, while its current forays into the gaming scene have been low-risk mobile-esque games, it wouldn’t be surprising to see some bigger budget attempts arriving on the Netflix app before too long. Will it succeed? Netflix certainly believes so, with vice president Mike Verdu claiming that the Stadia was a “technical success” and the only reason it failed was due to “issues with the business model”.
And not only are Netflix making new games, they are also making brand-new shows based off existing games. Following on from the success of shows like Arcane and Cyberpunk Edgerunners, they recently announced they would be partnering with Ubisoft to create a live-action Assassin’s Creed series.
