With such a vast catalogue of content at its disposal, this seems like a very natural step for the streaming service.
The biggest on demand subscriber in the world is looking to expand its consumer base past just TV show and movie production. According to their latest news roundup, Netflix could be tapping into the video games industry in the very near future.
According to Deadline, when Greg Peters, COO and Chief Product Officer of Netflix, was asked whether video games could be a viable option for the company, he didn't say no.
He said: "We’re in the business of creating these amazing, deep universes and compelling characters and people come to love those universes and want to immerse themselves more deeply and get to know the characters better.
"We’re trying to figure out all of the different ways that we can increase those points of connection and deepen that fandom and certainly games is a really interesting component of that. Whether it’s gamifying some of the linear storytelling we’re doing like interactive with 'Bandersnatch' and we’ll continue and we’ve actually launched games themselves as part of our licensing and merchandising effort and we’re happy with what we’ve seen.
"There’s no doubt that games are going to be an important form of entertainment and important modality to deepen that fan experience so we’re going to keep going. We’re a business that continues to learn and so far the learning has been good so we’re happy how it’s played and out and hopefully we’ll continue to learn."
It's no surprise that Netflix would want to enter the billion-dollar gaming industry, which has seen a huge boom within the past year alone. And with such a vast back catalogue of content such as 'The Umbrella Academy', 'Stranger Things' (which could easily get a step up from the 8-bit version), and 'Extraction' at its disposal, the possibilities are endless. Hell, even a 'Bridgerton' video game could work. If they keep creating and expanding upon tentpole franchises such as these, anything is possible.
Netflix has been making headlines this week, with news that the company has invested a whopping $17 billion on their content for 2021 (which matches their 2020 spend, FYI). No doubt extra heat from rival streamers such as Disney+, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+ ensured Netflix continues to deliver new and classic content each week to its subscribers.
It was announced today that 'The Witcher, 'You', and 'Cobra Kai' would all be returning for second and third seasons later this year.