Netflix is synonymous with streaming platforms for movies and television shows. Although many services like Hulu, HBO Max, and Disney+ have all risen in its wake, Netflix still commands a dominating slice of the streaming service pie. Despite its impressive size, Netflix has also managed to continue to grow, although it reported less growth than was expected in the company's most recent quarterly report. This has caused Netflix to look at numerous avenues for it to find continuous growth in the future in addition to its slate of original movies, shows, and stand-up specials.
The most recent way that the company has announced it will be doing this is by offering video games on Netflix. The announcement is still very new, and the company has not offered much information about how it all will work. However, Netflix's substantial reach and current subscriber base put the company in an excellent position to move into the games industry. Its position ahead of the new feature is so good, in fact, that it could very well come to rival existing services like Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus.
Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Now's Place in the Industry
Xbox Game Pass is a massive force in the games industry. The service offers players access to hundreds of games across Xbox and PC for a modest monthly subscription cost. Xbox and Microsoft have been investing heavily in the service to attract high-profile releases to the service while even revealing that Xbox Game Pass would be fully integrated into Windows 11. The service also promises to feature every first-party Xbox title on the day that they launch on both Xbox consoles and PC. The service has become so synonymous with subscription services in the games industry that it is frequently referred to as the Netflix of games while other subscription services such as Apple Arcade are often defined as being similar to Xbox Game Pass.
Additionally, through the power of Xbox Cloud Gaming, Xbox Game Pass has started moving to other platforms as well. Xbox Cloud Gaming allows players to play a growing list of Xbox Game Pass games on mobile phones and even PCs. This allows players to join the Xbox ecosystem even without an Xbox console, while also letting players without serious PC hardware or a console play some of the newest and biggest AAA games. The closest analog PlayStation has to Xbox Game Pass is its PlayStation Now program. PlayStation Now gives players access to hundreds of games to play on PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5. Players can download or stream the games on their console while also being able to stream them on PC.
Netflix's Plans for Gaming
With Netflix's announcement that the company will be getting into video games, there are a lot of questions about how the company will approach it. There is still not very much information on what its efforts will look like, but Netflix's has confirmed that it has hired Mike Verdu as its Vice President of game development. Verdu is best known for working at Facebook where he was in charge of working with developers to bring games to the Oculus VR headset.
While there is little official information on Netflix's approach to gaming, there have been some leaks that could point towards Netflix's ideas. Reportedly the service is looking to launch its video game offerings sometime next year, which could have a big impact on its reception. Insider leaks also say that the offerings will appear in the service as a new programming category similar to Comedies or Horrifying Shows. The feature being a new category points towards the feature been fully integrated into the Netflix platform, while the insider also claims that Netflix is not planning on increasing its subscription cost with the launch of the new feature. Although, the feature could be used to justify a subscription cost increase in the future. It also points towards the feature working similarly to Google Stadia, which could be both a positive and a negative for Netflix's introduction to the games industry.
How Netflix Could Rival Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus
While Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Now are already established in the industry, Netflix does have some advantages over those services. Chief among those advantages is Netflix's sizable userbase already. Many consumers who will be interested in trying Netflix's gaming service will already have Netflix and will be able to try it with a very low barrier to entry. This will make Netflix's gaming service almost immediately have a large user base that could rival that of the established services right when it launches. Another advantage Netflix has is that it has demonstrated the ability to fund plenty of original content. Just as Xbox Game Pass gets new titles added to the service every month, Netflix already gets a higher volume of new movies and shows every month as well and could conceivably fund a similar move for video games.
Another advantage that Netflix has over Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Now is that it will not require any hardware. Of course, Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Now are available on systems other than their associated consoles, but, in the case of Xbox Game Pass, some of its titles are only available when fully downloaded and its library is split across Xbox consoles and PC. Netflix's service will assumedly be available on platforms like PC, mobile, and even those same consoles right away. New generation consoles and graphics cards have been incredibly hard to come by as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and that chip shortage is expected to possibly last until 2023. Netflix already being able to support streaming and not requiring any hardware for the games it offers will allow the company to completely circumvent the shortage, which could give it a big advantage.
Of course, only time will tell what shape Netflix's video game efforts take and how well they will fare. Other companies such as Amazon are also trying to make a break into the games industry, with both developing original titles as well as launching the Amazon Luna game streaming service. It will be interesting to see how each of the companies will fare, and it could very well be that the games industry will look very different in a year or two's time.