Games like Pictionary: Game Night and Party Crashers will let subscribers play together without leaving Netflix.
Streaming giant Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) will soon enhance users’ movie-watching experience with the launch of party games this holiday season.
In a press statement released late Wednesday, the company said customers will be “able to go from K-pop Demon Hunters to party games for all your friends and family, without having to leave Netflix.”
Playing games will be made “as easy as streaming a show on a Friday night,” it said. Netflix users would need a subscription to its service and a phone for the purpose. Users can scroll to the Games tab on their TVs, choose a game and use their phones as the controller.
Netflix’s stock hasn’t reacted to the announcement in overnight trading, slipping 0.34%, according to Yahoo Finance. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment toward the stock shifted to ‘bearish’ as of late Wednesday, down from ‘bullish’ the day before. The message volume also reduced to ‘normal’ levels.
The Los Gatos, California-based company listed LEGO Party!, Pictionary: Game Night, Boggle Party, Tetris Time Warp, and a fresh take on the social deduction genre, Party Crashers: Fool Your Friends, among the games that would be made available. Netflix has been offering games for its users for four years now, but until now, users have had to play the games on mobile devices.
Earlier, Bloomberg reported that Netflix’s co-CEO Greg Peters disclosed the same at the media outlet’s “Screentime” conference held in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Peters reportedly said, “One of the gaming areas we’re going after is social gaming experiences that can show up on your TV.”
According to Netflix, pushing users to play games on TV will likely help it sidestep the “well-developed, competitive ecosystem” in mobile gaming. Alain Tascan, the head of Netflix’s gaming business and a former Epic Games executive, stated in an interview that several film and TV companies have attempted to enter the space without success, as they have taken a short-term approach.
Bloomberg reported that Netflix management has identified four focus areas: kids’ games, party games, mainstream hit games such as Grand Theft Auto, and games based on the company’s existing properties, including Stranger Things. All the games in the first offerings come free of cost, although they are priced at retailers.
Tascan reportedly said, “To entertain the world, we must include games,” adding that “A lot of companies have a lot of users, but not that many have all these people on the main entertainment screen at home, the TV.”
Netflix stock has gained 36% year-to-date.
For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.<