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Since last year, Netflix has been offering its subscribers access to free video games. Now data shows that less than one percent of its users actually play any of these games. And while the streaming giant has announced more games are coming to its service, very few of its 200 million+ subscribers are likely to care.
Netflix began offering games as part of its subscription service back in November, launching with five initial titles: Stranger Things: The Game, Stranger Things 3: The Game, Card Blast, Teeter Up, and Shooting Hoops. Since then more have been added and there are now over 25 mobile games available to download via the Netflix app on Android or iOS devices. Some of these games – like Into The Breach – are really good too. And all these games contain no ads or microtransactions.
Netflix’s games have been downloaded just over 23 million times and have an average daily audience of 1.7 million, CNBC reports using data from app analytics company Apptopia. That might sound good on paper, but it’s basically nothing compared to Netflix’s 221 million subscribers. This data appears to show that about 200 million people who have access to Netflix’s library of games aren’t currently playing them, or maybe don’t even know they exist.
However, with a solid slate of games that continues to grow, Netflix is struggling to get anyone to care. Apptopia’s data shows that all of these games combined have 1.7 million daily viewers. There are now hundreds of crappy mobile games that alone have double.
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Last year, Netflix COO Greg Peters told investors it plans to be “experimental” and “try a lot of things,” while explaining that the company is focused on “the long-term price” of making popular games that are “connected”. to hit Netflix shows and movies.
And while Netflix says it will double its current games library by the end of the year, since only one percent of its subscribers play those games, it’s hard not to wonder how long it will be before the streamer decides its foray into gaming is too expensive and not worth it ?
Keep in mind that Netflix is currently having a user retention issue. Since the beginning of this year, the streamer has lost 1.2 million subscribers. In response to the declining numbers, Netflix has cut jobs, slashed spending and canceled shows. Building and supporting a games library that rivals Game Pass or Apple Arcade doesn’t come cheap.
For example, earlier this year Netflix paid over $70 million to buy out the studio behind a Stranger Things puzzle game. That’s nothing, and at a time when the company is looking to cut costs and compete with other vapers, it’s questionable how much longer it will fund this gaming experiment.