It hasn't been a good week for Netflix, and the company is backing video games as a way to fix its fractures, according to a report from The Washington Post. The most famous name in streaming services said that it would move further into the gaming space last year, and it seems to be following that plan to a T.
After a few cautious steps into the pool in the form of big video game adaptations like The Witcher and Arcane (based on characters from League of Legends), it seems it's going whole hog soon with a slate of 50 mobile games that are only available to Netflix subscribers. And it's buying notable gaming studios, too.
Dead weight —
If you missed the news, Netflix's stock took a major tumble last week when it reported a loss of 200,000 subscribers in Q1. (If that's not bad enough, the company forecasted that it would lose 2 million during Q2. Ouch.)
Though the company's stock price has continued to plunge in the intervening days, it's decided to double down on the video-game-to-TV-show concept by adapting the popular card game, Exploding Kittens, into a show and a mobile game. (9gag users rejoice!) While an Exploding Kittens TV show certainly sounds less-than-timely, it's being written by Greg Daniels and Mike Judge, so at least some talented people are collecting an easy check.
Paper rush —
It's undeniably true that Netflix has grabbed up some serious gaming talent simply by buying studios. The company bought two notable mobile game makers in the form of Next Games and Boss Fight Entertainment earlier this year. Back in 2021, it acquired Night School Studio, which has made several notable narrative games like Oxenfree and Afterparty, as well as mobile games based on the popular TV show, Mr. Robot.
Besides its gaming initiatives, Netflix is exploring other ways of increasing revenue, such as cracking down on those of us who share passwords. That's not exactly going to endear the company to its millions of users, but then again, it's hard to get out of that monopolist mindset. Just ask Facebook.
