Netflix Is Looking to Expand Into the Video Games Business

Soon, you might be binge-playing video games on Netflix. An anonymous source reported that Netflix is currently is on its way to break into the video games industry, eyeing veteran executives from the field to oversee this massive expansion.

Netflix is Looking to Expand Into the Video Games Business cover

Just today, The Information‘s anonymous source reported (via Reuters) that the global streaming giant Netflix is currently looking for an executive in an attempt to oversee its expansion into the video games industry. While the details are still unclear, the report said that Netflix has approached game industry veterans in recent weeks.

The report also added that one strategy it had discussed internally is to offer its customers a bundle of games in an online subscription, not unlike Apple Arcade. However, the company noted that it has decided that its games will not feature advertising. It’s unclear whether it will be a part of the current subscription pricing or not. Previously the California-based internet company has tried to get into the industry through the experimental interactive movie Bandersnatch and giving one of its original IPs, Stranger Things, several video game adaptations.

The first Stranger Things game was released to iOS and Android devices on October 4, 2017. And then Stranger Things 3: The Game launched on July 4, 2019, for PS4, Switch, Xbox One, PC, and mobile platforms. A virtual reality experience was developed for PlayStation VR in late 2017 as well. And there was supposed to be a third mobile game, simply called Stranger Things (again), but the location-based title seems to be vaporware.

Back in 2019, in a letter to shareholders, Netflix cited Fortnite as one of its biggest rivals in recent years. Not to mention that ever since the COVID pandemic hit, the video game industry has seen unprecedented growth, thanks to people spending more time at their homes. The company’s stock is said to be up 1% premarket after the report of Netflix’s expansion into the games industry hits the news.

We earn consumer screen time, both mobile and television, away from a very broad set of competitors. We compete with (and lose to) Fortnite more than HBO . . . There are thousands of competitors in this highly-fragmented market vying to entertain consumers.

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