-
At the TechCrunch Disrupt 2022 conference on Tuesday, Netflix’s VP of games, Mike Verdu, declared that the streamer was “seriously researching” a cloud gaming service to be able to expand its library of games so that they could be played on TVs and PCs.
“We are going to approach [cloud gaming] the same way we did with mobile, which is start small, be humble, be smart, and then build out.” But we believe that this is a move that needs to be taken in order to meet members where they are and on the devices that they use to watch Netflix. If Netflix was creating its own controller for a cloud gaming service of this kind, Verdu declined to say.
Verdu emphasized a distinction between Netflix’s approach to cloud gaming and programs like the soon-to-be-abandoned Google Stadia, Amazon’s Luna, and Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming. Verdu, a former executive at Electronic Arts, Zynga, and Facebook VR/AR content, claimed that providing games on your TV or PC is a value-add for Netflix. “We are not asking you to subscribe as a console replacement, so it is a whole different business model,” Verdu said.
The company, intends to establish a new studio in Southern California around Chacko Sonny, a former executive producer at Activision Blizzard who worked on “Overwatch” and previously oversaw the creation of “God of War” at Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Santa Monica Studio. Verdu stated, “We are assembling a team around [Sonny] and are eager for him to assist us in redefining the game.
In its third-quarter results announcement on Tuesday, Netflix stated that it presently has 55 mobile games in development and 35 mobile games available, some of which are based on Netflix brands. All games come with every Netflix subscription and are free of in-game advertisements and in-app purchases. gaming increases the value of the standard Netflix streaming television subscription, lowering churn. Verdu observed that over the course of its 25-year existence, Netflix has not placed many significant wagers. “And the business is strongly committed to including [the game].
A Netflix rep confirmed the plan, but had no other additional information.
We are seeing promising evidence that games can improve retention, the business wrote in a letter to shareholders. After the release of the animated series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners in Q3 the gameplay of CD Projekt has improved (49 million hours watched). PC games based on Cyberpunk 2077 have expanded tremendously. Marko Lastikka, a former executive at EA and Zynga, will lead the company as its director, according to a statement released by Netflix last month.