Slightly more than two years back, Netflix made a significant announcement about its bold step into the gaming industry. Their goal? Offering games devoid of ads and in-app purchases is a distinctive approach in a mobile gaming arena primarily dominated by free-to-play and ad-supported models. This strategic maneuver is now bearing fruit. Sensor Tower, a reputable market research firm, anticipates a notable surge of over 180% in the download figures of Netflix games for 2023 compared to the preceding year. As of 2023, these games have collectively garnered a global download tally of 81.2 million across both Google Play and the App Store, with approximately 53% of these downloads recorded in the fourth quarter.
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Comparatively, the data indicates a significant rise from the 36% of Netflix’s 2022 game downloads attributed to fourth-quarter installations. Sensor Tower’s estimates put Netflix game downloads at 28.7 million in 2022 and 5.2 million in 2021.
What initially commenced as a modest initiative to curate a collection of casual games and titles linked to Netflix’s popular series—like Stranger Things—swiftly transformed into the company’s aggressive acquisition of game studios. In 2021, Night School Studio, the developer of “Oxenfree,” was joined the following year by Spry Fox, a cozy games developer, Finland’s Next Games, which published a “Stranger Things” title, and Texas-based Boss Fight Entertainment, which was founded in by former employees of Zynga Dallas and Ensemble Studios.
Along with its internal studios, Netflix expanded its global reach with the acquisitions. Among these were two locations in Southern California, overseen by Chacko Sonny, the former executive producer of Blizzard Entertainment’s “Overwatch,” and Helsinki, under the direction of a former general manager from Zynga.
The business is still expanding on the mobile front even as it turns its attention to cloud gaming as its next big thing. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Netflix’s newest title, debuted in the middle of the previous year, yet it has surpassed all previous download totals for streamers. According to mobile app analytics company Appfigures, it also had the most downloads in a single month across the gaming portfolio. Furthermore, according to Sensor Tower statistics, GTA: Vice City ranks as Netflix’s sixth most downloaded game for 2023, while GTA III ranks as the service’s eleventh most downloaded game overall.
After the GTA games were released on Netflix, all three of them together amassed over 6.4 million downloads in less than a week, proving their immediate popularity. Together, the three Grand Theft Auto games accounted for almost 17% of Netflix’s 2023 gaming downloads, showing that they were popular with mobile users and perhaps even justifying keeping a Netflix subscription for the free content. According to Appfigures, month-over-month downloads for Netflix’s game library quadrupled in December following a doubling in November.
The most popular gaming genre on Netflix is “Action,” although its user base isn’t limited to just one genre because of the success of Grand Theft Auto games. According to Sensor Tower data, the “Too Hot to Handle” titles, which accounted for half of the downloads in the Lifestyle category, have made “Lifestyle” gaming its second most popular genre.
With the publication of 40 games last year, including well-known titles like “Monument Valley” and two in-house productions, “Oxenfree II: Lost Signals” and “Netflix Stories: Love is Blind,” it made progress toward that objective. It also started experimenting with tailored gaming recommendations within its app and gameplay on US, UK, and Canadian TVs.
However, everyday game downloads have decreased since the GTA release. On December 16, 2023, GTA San Andreas had one million downloads; for example, there were less than 100,000 this Monday. (Refer to the chart)
Late last year, a Netflix recruiter posted on LinkedIn that the company is creating an AAA (big-budget) studio from scratch to work on a multi-platform game based on a “unique IP.” According to the post, game developers will collaborate with industry stalwarts such as studio director Jerry Edsall, Chacko Sonny, Rafael Grassetti, Gavin Irby, and Joseph Staten. Job listings show that there are openings for senior mobile engineers and gameplay designers, suggesting that the game will be cross-platform.
The game would add to Netflix’s current total of 89 games available on all platforms, which will undoubtedly increase in 2024, given the company’s December announcement that it had roughly 90 more titles in production.
(Information Source: Techcrunch.com)
