The company will offer video games on its service over the next year, according to a Bloomberg report. The outlet says video games will emerge as a new genre on the platform – similar to documentaries and stand-up specials. Bloomberg did not go into details, but reported Netflix (NFLX) does not intend to charge extra for access to the games.
Disney’s NBCUniversal and Comcast have a number of ways to make money, like selling Iron Man toys and Jurassic Park theme park rides, so companies’ sources of revenue aren’t intrinsically tied to their new businesses. streaming, Disney + and Peacock. This is not the case for Netflix.
The main driver of business revenue is related to every subscriber it brings in. So far, business has exploded in this department with Netflix on top of the streaming mountain. However, her growth is starting to seem a bit slow lately.
The streaming service reported in April that it had 208 million subscribers worldwide, after adding 4 million in the first quarter of 2021. That number missed expectations and forecasts for its next quarter, the company reports. next week, were also quite dull.
The company has sought to diversify, and video games could be a smart way to do it.
The gaming world is not completely foreign to Netflix. The company announced a video game based on its original hit series “Stranger Things” in 2019.
Netflix hired Mike Verdu to be its vice president of game development and help the company with its gaming efforts. Verdu has a solid pedigree in this world as he was vice president of content at Facebook Reality Labs, overseeing the games. virtual reality deals from this company. He was also senior vice president of mobile telephony for Electronic arts (IT) – one of the most important names in the game.
Netflix has proven time and time again that it can be successful in bringing new forms of entertainment to its customers.
However, the buyer is wary when it comes to video games. Other companies have tried – and failed – to make streaming video games work. Google (GOOG), for example, said in February that it finished making video games less than two years after launching Stadia, its new gaming platform. Amazon’s gaming strategy with “Crucible,” its free-to-play “Fortnite” game, has also not been a success, nor has its streaming video game platform Luna.
– CNN’s Rishi Iyengar contributed to this report.
