Announcing that it started to take its first steps to expand into the mobile game industry in May, Netflix stated that it hired Mike Verdu, a name who has given years to the game industry, as Vice President of Game Development, about 10 days ago.
According to the information in a shareholder letter, Netflix has confirmed that its first games to be released will be for mobile platforms. Considering that the basis of Netflix’s offers has not changed for 10 years, this expansion in the gaming industry marks the first change in Netflix offers.
Although this change shows that Netflix’s profit share will increase considerably, Netflix’s plan does not yet specify that an extra fee will be charged for these games. Netflix’s plan for pricing is claimed to be to implement a system similar to Apple Arcade. In addition, Netflix will add momentum to this sector by strengthening its games such as Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and Stranger Things.
In a statement in the letter, Netflix said:
“We see games as a new category of content for us, similar to our expansion to original films, animation, and unscripted TV. Games will be included in members’ Netflix subscription at no additional cost, similar to movies and TV shows. Initially, we’ll focus primarily on games for mobile devices. We’re as excited as ever about our movies and series, and we expect a long period of incremental investment and growth across all of our existing content categories, but as we’re almost a decade behind in our transition to original programming, it’s time to learn more about how much our members value games.”
The company has already included game titles such as The Witcher and Castlevania as a series. In addition, an animated series is being prepared for League of Legends, one of the most popular games in the world. Considering all this, many people are looking forward to the expansion of Netflix, which is working with such popular titles, into the game industry, and it is believed that the games it will release will make a lot of noise.
