After dominating television, Netflix is setting its sights on gaming

Netflix has had a video game offering since 2021 but it remains one of the least-discussed elements of the service. With a pivot in focus and a shift to offering games on TV screens as well, the company’s new head of games has a plan to change that.

Alain Tascan joined Netflix last year, and was previously vice president of game development at Epic Games, where he oversaw the growth of several blockbusters including Fortnite. As president of games at Netflix, he wants to leverage the rise of new technology and industry trends — which are moving away from the traditional closed-ecosystem console box — to make the streaming giant a major player in the space.

Netflix has announced a multiplayer online game called Spirit Crossing, developed by Spry Fox.

“I think of games as an extension of the company’s core strength in entertainment. By bringing games into Netflix, we’re creating a place where members can watch, play and experience entertainment all under one roof,” Tascan said.

“Gaming is evolving and so are players. People want new ways to play on devices they already own, seamlessly integrated into their lives. With over 300 million members deeply engaged on TV and mobile, Netflix is uniquely positioned to meet players where they are.”

Netflix’s initial steps into gaming have been a tad uneven. The company produced a number of interactive TV experiences that it ultimately pulled from the service. It made several studio acquisitions and built a stable of its own in-house developers, but in October announced it was closing a studio it had built with high-profile industry veterans before it had even announced a game.

Alain Tascan brings some of the lessons he learned working on Fortnite to Netflix.

The Netflix games offering is very diverse. There are about 100 games, a mix of mainstream series (Grand Theft Auto, Sonic, Street Fighter, Civilization), celebrated indies (Hades, Dead Cells, Katana Zero, Into the Breach), as well as casual word and party games, games created by Netflix’s internal studios and several based on its hit movies and TV shows.

There are games that are included with Netflix as soon as they are released (such as recent indie detective game Rise of the Golden Idol) but very few that are strictly exclusive to the service (one notable recent exclusive is Monument Valley 3).

All this means that games are secretly a huge value-add for Netflix subscribers. But an obvious issue is that only existing gamers who are engaged with other platforms will recognise most of the games, and they’re unlikely to play on Netflix. On the other hand, users unfamiliar with games might look at Hades and have no idea what it is. Addressing this is one of Tascan’s key concerns.

“We need to balance having enough variety to offer entertainment for a massive audience, while having enough focus to get really good at the things Netflix can do best,” he said.

“We’re really focused on four key areas where we think we have a competitive advantage.”

Rise of the Golden Idol, one of 2024’s best puzzle games, is available on Netflix.

He lists those areas as kids games, narrative games, party games and big, recognisable franchises.

The other major roadblock is that Netflix games are not generally available on TVs. You have to download the games from your phone’s app store, and then sign in with your Netflix account. But the wider industry has already been working on a solution to this for years.

The most prominent example is Microsoft’s Game Pass, which lets you install and play the games included in the subscription locally on your console, or stream them from Microsoft’s servers, over the internet to any device. Netflix is already testing similar TV game streaming, with user’s phones acting as the controller, in certain countries.

Some industry watchers have referred to Game Pass as the Netflix of games, and it’s clear that Tascan wants to reclaim that title.

“We’re not the Netflix of games yet. But that’s exactly where we’re headed. Later this year, you’ll see games roll out on TV in more countries, so we’ll be able to be where 70 per cent of Netflix viewers are,” he said.

“The opportunity for games on TV is growing to scale as latency and broadband improve. Someone’s going to get there soon – why shouldn’t it be Netflix?”

Microsoft already offers streaming Game Pass direct to certain models of TV, but Tascan said 700 million people globally view content through a Netflix app, which could be a huge advantage if game-streaming were turned on with an update.

Of course, existing players including Microsoft and Sony already have access to a huge catalogue of games, but Netflix is eyeing more casual and mainstream markets. It recently announced a cosy open-world life sim from Spry Fox (which it acquired in 2022), which will let many subscribers build homes and villages while hanging out together. Tascan said that the long-term goal was that games on Netflix would be just like films and shows: instantly accessible at any time on any device, and you could pick up where you left off.

Netflix is testing cloud-streaming of games to TVs, with smartphones used as controllers.

“You’ll start to see more of what we’re talking about later this year, but we want to create new kinds of experiences. Using your phone as a controller opens up so many creative doors. Think about swinging a golf club, or a flashlight in a dark, scary space, and combining that innovation with some of our members’ favourite worlds. Think about family game night, couch co-op, party games and experiences only Netflix can make,” he said.

“Netflix has all the ingredients to drive real disruption and innovation. We want to be the place where creators come to tell stories that transcend mediums. Imagine having all your entertainment, the characters you love, the worlds you know, all in one place, shared with the people you enjoy them with. That’s the future we’re building.”

Get news and reviews on technology, gadgets and gaming in our Technology newsletter every Friday. Sign up here.