Microsoft’s buyout of Activision Blizzard continues to generate discussion – as it should. The nearly $70 billion deal positions the tech giant one step closer towards creating its Netflix for gaming. Naturally, it was only a matter of time before the actual Netflix responded to the acquisition.
Netflix COO and chief product officer Greg Peters recently shared his thoughts about the news of Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard. According to Peters, Microsoft’s latest move is proof that subscription models are a great way to “connect consumers around the world with games and game experiences.” Peters also had some exciting news to share in his statement. He says that Netflix is “open to licensing, accessing large game IP that people will recognize” and even going as far as to tease the audiences will “see some of that happen over the year to come.
Netflix’s founder, Reed Hastings, was also on the same company call and explained that Netflix is experimenting with video games. Hasting adds that Netflix doesn’t like being in gaming “for the sake of being in it for a press release” and that he wants subscribers to have “the absolute best in the category.”
Going back to Peters, he reminded everyone in the call that Netflix is still in its “very early days” when it comes to gaming. However, despite Netflix’s cautious approach, Peters mentioned that Netflix Games is growing at a steady rate but the goal is to go bigger. After acquiring Night School, the studio behind hit indie title, Oxenfree, Netflix is a step closer to achieving its goals.
Netflix officially began its gaming venture last November by releasing 5 titles for Android phones. Netflix later expanded its gaming library with a handful of new titles for both iOS and Android platforms. It remains to be seen how Netflix plans on building on Netflix Gaming. For now, Netflix Gaming remains a nice bonus to have on top of the standard Netflix subscription, which just got more expensive for subscribers in North America and Canada.
