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Monday, 26 Jul 2021

Gooood Monday.

After weeks of rumours, Neftlix officially announced its expansion into another field of entertainment – video games.

The timing is not coincidental, as the streaming giant seems to be slowing down after last year’s massive subscriber spike.

PIC OF THE WEEK

“We think we can deliver more entertainment value through [games].”

-  Greg Peters, Netflix COO & Chief Product Officer

THE STORY

During the company’s second-quarter earnings conference call on Tuesday, Netflix executives spoke about their video game plans and strategy.

Though this has been in rumours for quite a while now, Netflix hasn’t really addressed its video gaming aspirations publicly until now. What’s more, it’s also the first time the platform is moving into nonvideo-related business ventures.

WHY IT'S INTERESTING

We still don’t know many details of Netflix’s video game expansion, but the streaming giant confirmed it will offer video games as part of its existing subscription plans. This means that users won’t have to pay extra to play games.

Greg Peters, COO at Netflix, added that the company will focus on mobile games, at least at launch. It may eventually expand to consoles and TV sets, too. What’s interesting is that the games offered by Netflix will initially be tied to the platform’s most popular films and shows.

What’s even more interesting is the fact that this news comes just as the company reported its worst slowdown in subscriber growth in 8 years.

“According to the company's latest earnings release, Netflix added just 5.5 million subscribers in the first half of 2021, compared to more than 25 million during the same period a year ago,” wrote data journalist Felix Richter.

This is caused by people slowly beginning to leave their pandemic cocoons as well as Netflix putting out fewer shows. The pandemic delayed production on many of its shows and movies.

In 2020, Netflix gained 37 million new subscribers, breaking down its 2018 record. It’s clear that the company doesn’t want to slow down and video games are meant to help the streaming giant keep the pace.

“There’s a big, big prize here, and our job is to be really focused,” Peters said on Tuesday. Looks like the game is on.

DIG DEEPER

• Why Netflix is moving into gaming by Tim Bradshaw and Anna Nicolaou, Financial Times
• Netflix's games won't be the Netflix of Games by Rob Fahey, GameIndustry.biz
• Netflix hires Oculus and EA veteran Mike Verdu to lead games by Dean Takahashi, Venture Beat
• Why Netflix’s push into video games doesn’t make sense by Nicole Laporte, Fast Company

NEWS

Netflix lays out mobile games plan that could set a collision course with Apple / MarketWatch 

Clubhouse is now out of beta and open to everyone / TechCrunch

Uber ramps up on-demand grocery expansion in the U.S. / Bloomberg

YouTube acquires Indian social commerce startup Simsim / TechCrunch

Elon Musk walks back his fossil fuel worries, says Tesla will likely start accepting bitcoin again / CNBC

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FRIDAY CLOSING PRICES, LAST WEEK % CHANGE

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