Netflix Inc. has been seeking to expand into video games since the last year, marking its first major shift away from television series and films.

1. IS GAMING THE NEXT BIG THING FOR STREAMING SERVICES?
NETFLIXINC.HASBEENSEEKINGTOEXPANDINTOVIDEOGAMESSINCETHELASTYEAR,MARKING
ITSFIRSTMAJORSHIFTAWAYFROMTELEVISIONSERIESANDFILMS

2. ENTERING A NEW SPACE:
Netflix began rolling out its gaming service in November 2021, allowing
players with an active Netflix subscription to jump into a set of mobile
games for no extra cost. The service initially included five games that
rolled out to Android and Apple devices across 190 countries including
Stranger Things: The Game, Stranger Things 3: The Game, Card Blast, Teeter,
and Shooting Hoops.
Netflix began the new year by adding two further games into its fold and
bringing its total to twelve. The company's newest games include the
hidden object game Krispee Street and its Hearthstone style roguelike
deckbuilding game Arcanium: Rise of Akhan.

3. THE COVID OVERHANG:
According to the company's own assessment
of the slowdown, it became a victim of its
2020 success, when a deluge of people signed
up amid stay-at-home orders and limited
options to spend their spare time. Many of
those subscribers might otherwise have
signed up later, creating what the company
calls "Covid overhang" in its letter to
shareholders. it almost became a necessity
for the company to figure out a way to be
relevant and interesting again.

4. A NECESSARY MOVE:
Netflix actually lost about half a million customers as a result of
the pandemic's spectacular rise in gaming, as well as competitor
streaming services' quick development into AVOD and SVOD.
Netflix’s prime competitor used to be sleep but now it’s everything
ranging from social media apps to video games.
Netflix is currently competing with more streaming and content-
serving services than it has ever been — not just the HBO Maxes,
YouTubes, and Hulus of the streaming world, but also apps like
Instagram and TikTok. By introducing extra points of entry to its
content — in this case, games that build upon and expand the worlds
of its existing titles — it may be able to prevent people from turning
to these other services or applications for enjoyment.
NOT ANYMORE...

5. WHY VIDEO GAMES?
The 2 primary reasons why Netflix chose video gaming as their next
possible step to expand are based on 2 themes- Data and Intellectual
property.
Netflix's success as a video streaming service is built on these two
notions. Netflix has transformed streaming video by combining data
from streaming video to recommend what people should watch and to
guide the creation of original content. Because of the importance of
held intellectual property, there has been a global shift in media
distribution, with corporations increasingly holding on to their own
inventions and distributing content via streaming rather than selling
programming to others.
As a result of the results, Netflix now has 209 million global users
and a trail of copycat subscription streaming services from every
major media firm.

6. THE POSSIBLE CONCERNS:
Game development economics are more analogous to Blockbuster
moviemaking than streaming shows, notwithstanding how much
Netflix invests in content creation today. For example, Activision
spent over $200 million on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, with
$150 million of the money dedicated to promoting the game. That
was only one game. Those are significant bets and big investments,
even if they aren't capital-constrained.
The days of gaming success based on licenced entertainment
intellectual property are mostly gone. The majority of gaming-
centric original intellectual property used to create such games
is not owned by Netflix. Where is the franchise ownership that
correlates with great gaming after Stranger Things and a couple
of other titles?

7. THE POSSIBLE CONCERNS:
While Netflix has a big installed base in the developed world, so do Xbox,
PlayStation, and Nintendo; and practically everyone in the target market has a
smartphone with access to an app store in the rest of the globe. The platform's
distribution and trial scale isn't a competitive advantage. The consoles have a
huge following; the FAANG companies have a huge following. Tencent, for
example, has a huge following in China. Netflix has yet to score a slam dunk.
Bandersnatch, an interactive episode of Netflix's Black Mirror, demonstrates
how combining the two might result in an in-between experience that is neither.
It sort of works, but it's not particularly engaging. Other interactive titles are
available on Netflix, although there are only 14 of them. While good
interactive tales are difficult to come by, this low number shows that they've
realized that interactive TV isn't as popular as they had hoped—and that
combining video with interaction isn't the ideal option.

8. GAMERS ARE NOT YOUR TYPICAL AUDIENCE: THE POSSIBLE ROLE OF INFLUENCER
MARKETING
Since it’s so new to gaming, Netflix will likely have to take a
more active and aggressive approach to marketing than
what it’s used to with TV or film. And the data indicates that
that might be a project that takes place over many years.
Since it’s so new to gaming, Netflix will likely have to take a
more active and aggressive approach to marketing than
what it’s used to with TV or film.
Gamers, in general, are just a skeptical audience, and they’re
very selective about what they choose to engage with. You
have to make sure that you’re authentic, and the best way to
have that authenticity is to be partnered with gaming
creators and influencers.

9. DIVERSIFICATION OF CONTENT TO STAY RELEVANT:
Diversifying your material can help people become interested in
you as an authority first, and subsequently in what you have to
offer. It's a tried and tested method. This does not imply simply
creating content. It's critical to understand your audience and
generate pictures and messaging that appeal to them in any
content marketing campaign.
People will be eager to check out your next release if your
material is genuinely good. That's one approach to build a fan
following, and it's something that every marketer strives for.
While for entertainment companies like Netflix and Epic Games,
cultivating a fanbase is THE business model, every company in any
field may have an engaged audience and organic boosters.
.
AS NETFLIX CONTINUES TO DEVELOP IT’S GAMING PORTFOLIO, IT’LL BE INTERESTING TO SEE IF OTHER STREAMING
PLATFORMS FOLLOW SUIT

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