Netflix Games has officially launched on iOS and iPad. Are you playing?
Through its app, the streaming giant offers five games at no additional cost. Today’s announcement comes a week after first dropping on Android devices. Only two of the games are related to a Netflix show (Stranger Things). After the global success of Squid Game in September (and past experiments with actual gaming), rumors of Netflix launching a gaming vertical became more amplified. Insiders say that Netflix Games represents an obvious chess move; the entertainment company wants to dominate the subscription gaming space. Unlike Apple Arcade, Netflix Games has no ads or in-app purchases.
The reason? To avoid paying Apple. In addition to accessing games through the main Netflix app, each game title is offered separately (as an individual app) through the App Store. New users can easily sign-up (via the games) for a subscription, but remember: Apple takes 30% of Netflix’s in-app payment revenue(it drops to 15% after a year). All new Netflix subscribers secured through the gaming venture will still qualify as in-app purchases. And while Netflix is not charging additional fees now, if their gaming metrics prove successful–the price will definitely go up. Or maybe the company will take another shot at avoiding the App Store altogether. What do you think?
