For the past two years, Netflix subscribers have had access to a wide range of mobile games, all included for free with their subscription. Netflix has created over 75 mobile games, featuring well-known franchises such as Grand Theft Auto, Love Is Blind, Monument Valley, and Oxenfree, among others.
Now, a recent report suggests that Netflix may be considering ways to monetize its gaming business.
As per a report by The Wall Street Journal, the company has been in discussions about potential revenue streams from its games. This could include in-app purchases, introducing pricing tiers for premium titles, and including ads in games accessible to subscribers of its ad-supported tier. These methods are common and effective in the mobile gaming industry, where consumers are projected to spend $111.4 billion on mobile games by 2024.
Netflix declined to comment to TechCrunch.
It’s important to note that discussions do not always translate to actions, and Netflix may ultimately decide against monetizing its games. In an earnings call in April 2023, Netflix appeared to dismiss the idea of including ads and in-game payments.
Greg Peters, Netflix’s co-CEO, stated, “We want to have a differentiated gaming experience, and part of that is giving game creators the ability to focus on building games purely for player enjoyment, without having to concern themselves with other forms of monetization, such as ads or in-game payments,” to investors.
However, plans can change. Previously, Netflix had been opposed to launching an ad-supported tier and restricting password sharing, but later reversed its decisions after experiencing a substantial loss of subscribers in 2022, its first subscriber loss in over a decade.
Furthermore, the move to monetize games would align with the streaming platform’s growth stagnation in early 2023, which led to a 3% reduction in its workforce. Netflix also recently increased its subscription prices, with the premium plan now costing $22.99 per month for new U.S. customers.
Additionally, in 2022, Netflix posted a job listing for a game director to work on an AAA PC game, a substantial financial investment in the gaming industry. According to the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), AAA games can have development budgets of $200 million or more. Netflix has reportedly discussed plans to charge for their future high-budget games, and analysts estimated that Netflix has invested around $1 billion in acquiring gaming studios and overall gaming business development.
