As Netflix subscriptions dwindle in the sunset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the streaming company has its next big bet: mobile games. In order to bolster its gaming output, the streaming giant is investing heavily in new studios to make mobile gaming a massive success.
Netflix Gaming AAA studio
Despite only around 1% of active subscribers using the Netflix Gaming service, the streaming giant is going all-in. With video subscriptions starting to drop, the company believes huge gaming projects will draw people back in, a-lá Xbox Game Pass.
In the past, Netflix has revealed huge projects for its subscription service. For example, a recent partnership with Ubisoft revealed that an all-new Assassin’s Creed game will be coming to the service. Furthermore, smaller titles such as Valiant Hearts sequel will arrive on Netflix.
Partnerships are not the only avenue that Netflix is investing in, though. In a recent press release, the company revealed that it is heavily investing in its own game studio located in Helsinki.
VP of Game Studios Amir Rahimi explained that the developer aims to be a “world-class games studio that will bring a variety of delightful and deeply engaging original games — with no ads and no in-app purchases — to our hundreds of millions of members around the world.”
“It’s still early days, and we have much more work to do to deliver a great games experience on Netflix,” they said. “Creating a game can take years, so I’m proud to see how we’re steadily building the foundation of our games studios in our first year, and look forward to sharing what we produce in the coming years.”
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Fruits of their labour
Of course, there’s no simple way to open a new development studio. Even established gaming companies such as Microsoft take years to properly establish game developers. For example, Microsoft’s latest AAA studio The Initiative has yet to create its first game after being founded years ago.
If Netflix Gaming wants its new studio to create actual AAA experiences on mobile, it’ll be a long time until we see the fruits of their Labour. However, with smaller titles in mind, we could see more genuine gems come to the platform. It’s all a balance.
While Netflix’s approach to mobile gaming has its issues, we hope they succeed. Even trapped behind a subscription, new mobile games of genuine quality will always be great.
