LOS ANGELES — First, it was a film delivery service. Then, it was a global streaming service. Now, Netflix is trying to turn itself into a gaming giant, too.
At Netflix’s corporate office in Hollywood, the streaming behemoth touted Wednesday its foray into TV gaming as it invited dozens of attendees to test out its new games, from TV versions of classics such as Pictionary and Tetris to a soon-to-be-released weekday competition game called Best Guess Live.
Some viewers might have already noticed a selection of games alongside their Netflix shows while watching TV. But the streamer is expanding that catalog by launching a collection of party games Thursday, as well as a slew of new titles over the holidays.
Alain Tascan, the head of Netflix’s gaming business, told attendees at the event Wednesday that the goal is to "take advantage of the reach and innovations at Netflix to push games in new and unexpected directions."
The pitch: for users to also access the games with as much ease as they would Netflix's shows and movies.
"Play it on your TV, control it on your phone," Tascan, an Epic Games alum who joined Netflix in 2024, said of the Netflix gaming experience.
The news comes after Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters emphasized the company's commitment to gaming during Bloomberg's Screentime conference in Los Angeles last month, sharing that some of the streamer's video games would soon be available for play on TVs for the first time.
Peters’ gave Netflix a B-minus grade for its past efforts in the gaming space, noting that now the streamer is going after social gaming experiences.
The streamer has been offering games to subscribers for years, but those had mostly been limited to separate mobile apps available exclusively for Netflix members. Now, Netflix wants users to play video games directly on their TV screens, using their phones only as controller (via a mobile controller app made by Netflix.)
"Let me be clear, we're not here to compete with consoles," Tascan said. "We're creating a completely new way to play games."
Dmitri Williams, a professor at USC who researches technology and society with a focus on games and community, said that Netflix's approach is an extension of a concept that isn't entirely new.
“It's almost a little bit of an Apple model in the sense that they might not have invented the tech, but they often perfect it,” he said.
Williams pointed to the Jackbox Party Pack, released by Jackbox Games in 2014, which has long allowed users to project multiplayer games on a TV and play from their phones. But those games are “relatively niche," he said, compared to what Netflix can offer.
The streaming giant has the scale and the audience reach to “take that good idea and make it much larger and more accessible to more people who would never have thought of doing it," Williams added.
Netflix’s new slate of party games, which went live Thursday, allows friends to compete against one another in multiplayer games including LEGO Party, Party Crashers, Boggle Party, Pictionary and Tetris Time Warp.
The platform also draws on Netflix’s broad roster of media with games derived from its most popular shows, including a children’s game based on “Peppa Pig,” a chess game based on “The Queen’s Gambit” and an interactive story game based on “Love Is Blind.”
Other multi-hyphenate conglomerate companies, like Amazon and Google, have also attempted to invest in their own gaming divisions. But Williams noted that Netflix benefits from more than its deep pockets and name recognition.
“They have an advantage, certainly, in that they could create content around well-loved existing IP,” Williams said. “So one thing that Amazon and Google couldn't do is create a 'Love Island'-themed group party game for Gen Z. I mean, talk about a killer advantage.”
Outside of the platform's original and borrowed IP, Netflix's games also include major third-party titles like the widely popular “Civilization VI.”
New releases coming soon include a mobile version of the open-world Western Red Dead Redemption, which comes with an Undead Nightmare story expansion. The platform also teased Netflix Puzzled, the streamer’s own version of a puzzle game hub with daily sudoku, crosswords and word searches featuring popular Netflix shows.
The big gaming push comes eight years after Netflix first waded into new waters by releasing a mobile companion game to its hit horror series "Stranger Things."
Then, in 2018, it got more creative with the release of its interactive film Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, which allowed viewers to determine the plot direction in a choose-your-own-adventure story.
“Some of the biggest successes have come from taking big swings, and now we’re going to apply that same innovation to games,” Tascan said. “We’re going to keep experimenting and entertaining the world. This is just the beginning.”
