Tuesday marked Netflix’s first-quarter earnings call, with CEO Greg Peters discussing gaming as a future source of investment for the company.
Key Details
- Peters told investors that Netflix plans to release 40 original video games this year in addition to the 55 it has already produced.
- Notable games include Terra Nil, Mighty Quest, and Oxenfree II.
- The company has already invested in three studios—Oxenfree, Boss Fight Entertainment, and Next Games—and plans to build a fourth internal gaming studio in Helsinki, Finland.
- Many of Netflix’s games are free to downplay through the mobile Netflix App and other app stores.
Why It’s Important
Netflix has a strong incentive to boost revenue this year. The company saw major subscriber losses in the first half of last year when the company lost nearly 1 million users. It subsequently regained lost accounts but still reported a loss financial by the end of the year—leading CEO Reed Hastings to consider implementing ads to make up for lost revenue.
Big changes are coming for the largest streaming service in the world. The announcement came in the aftermath of several other major announcements for changes in the company. The most notable was the announcement that Netflix plans to begin its long-threatened password-sharing crackdown in June, rolling out additional fees for accounts that sign into multiple devices outside of the user’s home.
“A Netflix account is meant to be shared in one household—people who live in the same location as the account owner. People who are not in your household will need to sign up for their own account to watch Netflix,” says Netflix.
The company is also finally closing shop for its 25-year-old DVD rental service, discontinuing physical media rentals in favor of digital streaming. The company has reported consistently declining revenues for this sector of the company, dropping 20% in 2022 to $145.7 million. The final discs will be shipped on September 29, 2023.
Notable Quote
“The fundamental goal here, obviously, is to give our members a new entertainment modality and more ways to enjoy incredible universes and deepen their fandom. [Our goal is] incredible stories that people are talking about, games that are must-play games … that motivate people to sign up,” says Peters.