Netflix plans to bring games to its service in near future. Veteran streaming service Netflix is expanding into video games and plans to offer ad-free games for mobile devices with no extra cost as early as next year.
These days it is hard to find a channel that doesn’t offer some type of streaming option. A number of services have been experimenting with video games subscriptions. Last year, Amazon (creator of Prime Video) invested in Luna, a cloud gaming service and operates its own gaming studio as well. Google (owner of YouTube) launched game-streaming service Stadia in 2019. And Apple, which launched Apple TV Plus last year, also sought to expand its audience with the mobile gaming subscription service Apple Arcade in 2019. Even Zoom is getting in on gaming with poker, Heads Up and Kahoot.
Why the need to add?
As the world emerges from the pandemic mindset and lockdowns coupled with growing competition in the streaming sector, Netflix faced its worst slowdown in subscriber growth in the last eight years.
It means that people are no longer at home all the time, and even when they are they have other sites to subscribe to.
In United States and Canada alone, Netflix has reported a loss of 430,000 subscribers in the second quarter. This would be its third quarterly decline in a decade.
What games will Netflix offer?
Netflix hasn’t announced any specific games yet, but the streaming giant hired former Electronic Arts and Facebook executive Mike Verdu for the project. EA is a powerhouse game publisher that owns popular titles like The Sims, Mass Effect, FIFA 21, Madden 21 and Medal of Honor. Facebook also housed addictive titles like FarmVille and Candy Crush.
Netflix has started setting up deals with developers and publishers to bring popular mobile games to the platform without ads.
When will Netflix launch the video game set up?
Netflix hasn’t given a specific date yet, but the service plans to start adding games its platform in 2022. During a discussion on the company’s second quarter earnings, Netflix said that it is in the “early stages” of a “multiyear effort”.
We all are anticipating the new expansion eagerly.
