Why is no one playing Netflix games?

Netflix has long since become a cult name, and a lot of people — nearly 200 million — reportedly use the service. But Netflix isn’t just about watching TV shows. Since last year, Netflix has also been offering video games to its subscribers, and for free! 

Despite this, it seems that not many of the platform’s users actually play these games. Nevertheless, Netflix plans to offer even more games. But the question is: How successful the concept will be when it is already hardly noticed?

Netflix games – a flop?

In November 2021, Netflix began offering games as part of its subscription service, launching with five titles, namely Stranger Things: The Game, Card Blast, Shooting Hoops, and Teeter Up. Since then, even more have been added. Furthermore, there are also over 25 mobile games that can be downloaded to Android or iOS devices through the Netflix app. it should be noted that some of these games are actually good and don’t annoy users with ads.

According to Netflix data, Netflix’s games have been downloaded just over 23 million times and are played 1.7 million times a day. That sounds like a lot at first, but compared to Netflix’s 221 million subscribers, it’s basically nothing. This data appears to show that around 200 million people who have access to the Netflix library of games aren’t currently playing them, or maybe don’t even know they exist.

Netflix also seeks to produce games

Netflix continues ​​picking up more and more games, despite the fact that the company hasn’t really managed to get a lot of people interested. Especially when the numbers are compared to data from any popular mobile game, which has double the number of views per day alone.

Last year, Netflix stated that it not only wants to make TV shows but also aims to focus on other projects. More specifically, the company wants to focus on the “long-term price” of making games related to popular Netflix series and movies.

However, the question is whether this really pays off for Netflix, because so far, the enthusiasm for its games has not been very great. If the project doesn’t bear fruit soon, Netflix may well shut it down at some point.

Will the project hold up?

Netflix in general isn’t doing so well, having already lost 1.2 million subscribers since the beginning of this year, which means less money for the company. Netflix, in turn, has let some people go, cutting spending and cutting shows.

Building and supporting a games library that rivals Xbox Game Pass, Epic Store, or Apple Arcade doesn’t come cheap. And while Netflix is ​​making banging revenue, the giant’s spending is also hefty. Therefore, the company should think carefully about whether it is really worth going further in the gaming direction.

Header: Netflix