Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said in a recent earnings interview available on YouTube that the platform will have the best gaming service in the industry.
Netflix entered the gaming realm in November 2021, allowing users with active subscriptions to play mobile games inspired by Netflix original series. Available on Android and Apple devices in over 190 countries, Netflix’s gaming platform launched with five games, including Stranger Things: The Game, Shooting Hoop, and Teeter.
Experimenting with interactive elements for viewers far before the launch of Netflix Gaming, the video streaming platform has long had an interest in the industry. Now, it appears that Netflix has raised its ambitions.
“We’re definitely ‘crawl, walk, run’ and, like, ‘Let’s nail the thing, and not just be in it for the sake of being in it or for a press release,'” Hastings said. “But we’ve got to please our members by having the absolute best in the category.”
Acknowledging the platform’s currently limited supply of games, Hastings said it’s Netflix’s intention to grow out its catalog. New additions in 2022 will seek to branch out to different genres and audiences.
“In 2022, we’ll expand our portfolio of games across both casual and core gaming genres as we continue to program a breadth of game types to learn what our members enjoy most,” Hastings said.
Most notably, Netflix has partnered with games company Night School, the creators of the award-winning game Oxenfree. Though admittedly early in the process, Netflix’s slow rollout of games is expected to pick up as the streaming giant tries to live up to its ambitions.
