Netflix Planning To Enter The Gaming Industry With A Subscription-Based Gaming Service
Netflix is reportedly working with senior executives in the gaming industry to create a subscription gaming service. Several tech giants, including Apple, Microsoft, Sony, and Google, are trying to establish Netflix for games as a service that provides unlimited content for a basic monthly fee. These tech giants are also trying to create Netflix for games by offering unlimited access to a library of titles for a fixed monthly fee, i.e.
Netflix has approached executives and partners from the gaming industry to launch a subscription gaming service, Reuters reported. In the past, various tech giants including Apple, Microsoft, and Google have attempted to create a Netflix game service that offers unlimited content for a basic monthly fee.
An attempt by Google to launch Stadia, its video game streaming platform, was unsuccessful, which many attributed to a lack of exclusive titles. Netflix has yet to decide whether its gaming service will use streaming technologies such as those developed for Stadia or Microsoft and Sony to develop an app that can be downloaded to any device. Google’s attempts to enter this market with its game streaming platform Stadia has not been successful, and this has been attributed by many to the lack of exclusive titles.
Apple Arcade is filled with third-party extensions, while other game subscriptions rely on proprietary exclusive products to generate records. A key question that has not yet been settled is whether a subscription game service will force Netflix to expand into its own games.
Apple, in particular, is opposed to game companies setting up subscription services on its platform. Apple, in particular, has always opposed the creation of subscription options on its iOS platform.
Netflix is looking for executives to oversee the expansion of video games, a sign that the video streaming giant is stepping up efforts to expand beyond the traditional film and entertainment industries, people familiar with the situation said. According to the publication, Netflix itself will try to hire top executives from the gaming industry to oversee its expansion into games. To see how difficult Netflix will be, just look at Google’s struggles with its streaming service and Amazon’s paltry spending from its in-house gaming studio.
A subscription-based video game service similar to Apple Arcade that gives subscribers unlimited access to its choice of games.
Netflix’s Watch Now video-on-demand streaming service allows subscribers to stream TV series and movies on a variety of supported platforms – including smartphones, tablets, digital media players, video game consoles, and smart TVs – via Netflix software from the Netflix website and PCs. When the service launched, Netflix subscribers were given free access.
When Netflix launched, Blockbuster was its biggest competitor, a global chain of video stores where customers can rent video stores. It took years for Blockbuster to start offering a similar service to Netflix now.
Netflix has come a long way since then, and its creation has changed the face of the media from streaming to rentals. In its first year of operating, Netflix gained 239,000 subscribers by introducing a subscription model where customers could rent DVDs for a fixed cost per month and by 2003 had built a customer base of more than 1 million. By the time Blockbuster, a global chain of video stores (where customers could rent in-store videos) switched to a subscription service, Netflix had already begun to shift its customers to streaming as subscribers left the DVD rental business.
Netflix denies any intention to move into game streaming but is reportedly in talks with senior executives and developers in the gaming industry to establish a brand new gaming industry. The company has already begun the search for senior gaming executives to lead the launch.
If Netflix is able to play the cards right, it could become a major player in this category. A Netflix subscription-based video game service could offer a premium experience in its streaming category. While other tech companies are trying to enter the gaming industry with online streaming platforms or games on consoles, Netflix is far ahead with a huge customer base.