author: Michael Zegar
Netflix Goes Hard Into Gaming; More Than 50 Games by 2023
According to a source reached by The Washington Post, Netflix is aiming to have about 50 video games available in its Netflix Games offering by the end of this year. Next month, the company is expected to release a video game adaptation of the card game Exploding Kittens.
According to a trusted source reached by The Washington Post, Netflix plans to expand the library of titles available on Netflix Games and offer approximately 50 mobile games as part of the service before the end of the year. This expansion into the gaming market is allegedly related to the recent loss of subscribers.
Exploding Kittens
According to The Washington Post, Netflix is set to release a mobile game next month based on a paper party card game called Exploding Kittens. The streaming giant is also planning and animated TV adaptation, which will be aimed at adult audiences and debut in 2023.
Expert commentary
Here's what Joost van Dreunen, a lecturer at New York University's Stern School of Business and an expert on the gaming industry, has to say about Netflix's plans:
"Netflix's frenzied entry into the video game industry indicates that the company needs to move beyond streaming video to maintain its prosperity. Announcing the launch of a TV series and a game based on Exploding Kittens shows Netflix's willingness to try new things, but it's not a launch that will save 'the farm'."
Netflix games
Exploding Kittens from Netflix indicates that the streaming giant is trying to create synergy between what its subscribers watch and what they play.
- The company will likely focus on screen adaptations of popular video game series in the coming years - in February, it announced a movie adaptation of the legendary BioShock, while at the same time creating video games based on their most successful films and series.
- However, it seems that at this point the corporation has no plans to conquer platforms other than mobile.
Summary
Perhaps this will change with the release of Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, which is heading to PC, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Xbox One, PS4 and Nintendo Switch later this year. Its creators have been acquired by Netflix after starting work on the sequel to their previous work. The success of the sequel could encourage the streaming giant to develop its games with other platforms in mind as well.
Netflix Conquests
In addition to Night School Studio (creators of Oxenfree II) in recent months Netflix has also acquired the Finnish studio Next Games (Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales) and Texas-based Boss Fight Entertainment (Dungeon Boss).