Netflix Gaming Strategy Hits A Wall Of Unawareness

Netflix had made steady efforts since 2021 when it launched Netflix Games, which now has 25 mobile games (or so). In the mobile Netflix app, free games are prominently featured in the UI (at the bottom), but people are unaware or uninterested.

Apptopia, an analytics company, suggested that fewer than 1% of subscribers are downloading games, which is a surprisingly low number. Some might attribute this to the relatively low number of games, and Netflix intends to double that to 50 this year.

Among the titles that caught my attention were games like Asphalt Extreme which can benefit from good name recognition. Stranger Things: 1984 and Stranger Things 3 (the games) are others we expect to be viral as long as the show does well.

Perhaps the primary issue is that many Netflix subscribers might use a PC, Mac, or TV that would not run these games.

Overall, the idea is good, and while it’s true that current games aren’t blockbusters by any means, they are FREE. That alone should entice some players to check them out and try.

In time, and with the right game catalog, Netflix could have another business to make its service sticky and feature paid games or even in-game purchases. Nothing points out to that quite yet, and building this will take more time and money. Netflix is happy to invest for now.

Eliane Fiolet
Categories: Gaming
Tags: Netflix