By Alice Seeley
Since Netflix started offering video games as part of its subscription plan in November 2021, less than 1% of Netflix’s 221 million users have played them. According to app analytics company Apptopia, Netflix’s video games have only been downloaded 23.3 million times.
On average, 1.7 million users play the games daily. One reason for this bad performance is that the games cannot be played on the Netflix platform but must be downloaded as separate apps.
Netflix currently offers 25 video games, including Stranger Things: The Game, Stranger Things 3: The Game, Card Blast, Teeter Up, and Shooting Hoops. Some of these are modeled after popular card games, such as “Mahjong Solitaire” and “Exploding Kittens. The streaming platform plans to release 26 video games by the end of the year, including “Queen’s Gambit Chess,” based on the hit Netflix series.
When Netflix first added video games, the company’s chief operating officer, Greg Peters, told investors it was “experimental” and that the company would “try a bunch of things.” Netflix’s long-term goal in adding video games is to create popular games that are associated with Netflix’s shows.
It is expected that Netflix will not release the additional 26 video games by the end of the year since the streaming platform is struggling financially since it has lost 1.2 million subscribers already this year. To combat this loss, Netflix laid off employees, cut down on spending, and canceled shows. It is doubtful that video games will save the company since most users do not even know about them.
