Netflix's video game expansion officially confirmed via earnings call

Netflix, one of the largest names in the video streaming industry, is now officially expanding its horizons towards gaming. Last week, rumors of Netflix including games as part of its subscription began taking over the internet after it announced the hiring of a top-level executive who has worked at Electronic Arts and Oculus. In an earnings call this week, Netflix confirmed that they're looking to expand beyond TV and movies, with video games being their first step towards more interactive media.

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Netflix to add video games as a part of subscriptions soon

New story with @Lucas_Shaw: Netflix is planning to add video games to its service in the next year and has hired Facebook’s VR games content head, and former head of mobile games at EA, to run its new gaming division. https://t.co/hvs7n1pzVB

— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) July 14, 2021

On July 20th, 2021, Netflix shared a letter with its investors that contained the usual financial recap with plans for what's ahead. These plans include the addition of video games to its service, something Netflix hopes to achieve by next year.

The hiring of former EA and Oculus exec Mike Verdu as Netflix's vice president of game development was an early tip-off that such a move was in place. Netflis said:

We’re also in the early stages of further expanding into games, building on our earlier efforts around interactivity (eg, Black Mirror Bandersnatch) and our Stranger Things games. We view gaming as another new content category for us, similar to our expansion into original films, animation and unscripted TV.

There are currently no plans to increase subscription costs for customers, as Netflix looks to package video games as part of the deal and not a value-added service.

As of now, there's no word on how the games will be delivered to customers. Whether the games will be directly streamed via the internet, or will customers have to download the game and run it on a timed license, remains to be seen.

Games will be included in members’ Netflix subscription at no additional cost similar to films and series. Initially, we’ll be primarily focused on games for mobile devices. We’re excited as ever about our movies and TV series offering and we expect a long runway of increasing investment and growth across all of our existing content categories, but since we are nearly a decade into our push into original programming, we think the time is right to learn more about how our members value games.

The move away from traditional video may prove essential, as Netflix plans to extend its longevity and not go the way of Blockbuster, which has failed to adapt to a shifting economy.