Netflix, the popular online video streaming platform, is looking to expand into the video gaming business. The company is reportedly looking to hire an executive to head the video gaming business and has recently approached multiple gaming executives in the past month.
The plans are still in the early stage, so we don’t know if the company will make its own video games or license them from third-party publishers. It could also be a mix of these two strategies. The company discussed offering something similar to Apple Arcade.
Back in January 2019 in its earning call, Netflix said it is worried about competition from Fortnite more than other streaming services. “We compete with (and lose to) ‘Fortnite’ more than HBO,” Netflix said in the quarterly earnings statement. At that time, we assumed the company is comparing engagement, screen time, and revenue. There was no reason to assume Netflix could enter into the gaming space.
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Netflix has experimented with interactive programming where it asked viewers to decide the characters’ moves in “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch” and “You vs. Wild.” The company also created games based on popular web series “Stranger Things” and “La casa de Papel (Money Heist).”
This move is being taken at a time when the video gaming industry has seen a surge in demand because people are at home duding the Covid-19 pandemic. Video gaming industry is expected to be worth over 200 billion USD by 2023. Just in the US, video game market was worth around 65 billion USD. But this segment already has a big competition. Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook already trying their best. It won’t be an easy ride for Netflix.
