Netflix doesn’t have any immediate plans to scale back its gaming ambitions since it wants to make sure that each of its more than 230 million customers can enjoy at least one game. Following the most recent additions of Valiant Hearts: Coming Home and the captivatingly dystopian Highwater, the company’s mobile gaming catalogue currently contains 55 games. In 2023, there will be a lot more because Netflix has plans to add about 40 more games throughout the course of the year.
A number of these games have been made public by the publisher, including the reverse city-building game Terra Nil (coming on March 28) and the puzzle-solving game Paper Trail. Additionally, Netflix and Ubisoft have agreed to an agreement for three exclusive titles. Mighty Quest: Rogue Palace, the second of those, will be released on April 18th. It follows Valiant Hearts: Coming Home. The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot’s shared universe is used for this roguelite. It is rumoured to include an enhanced formula, a deeper narrative, and improved gameplay.
A sequel to Too Hot to Handle: Love is a Game, which is based on the popular reality show Too Hot to Handle and is one of Netflix’s most popular games to date, is also coming out later this year. According to Netflix, weekly content updates have kept gamers engaged, and the company is collaborating with developer Nanobit on the sequel.
In the future, Netflix Games will offer the Monument Valley series. In 2024, Monument Valley and Monument Valley 2 will be free to stream for Netflix subscribers.
There are modern iterations of the venerable mobile puzzle games on Apple Arcade. The games should continue to be available on other services after the next year, a Netflix official told Engadget. Another Monument Valley game is reportedly in the works as part of the developer Ustwo’s Netflix agreement; Ustwo created Desta: The Memories Between last year, which is also available on Netflix.
The Vainglory developer Super Evil Megacorp is working on the exclusive project, which it claims will build on the studio’s experience in team-based fighting, while another game based on an unnamed forthcoming Netflix IP is also in the works. Later this year, further information regarding this initiative should become available. According to Leanne Loombe, vice president of external games at Netflix, this game is a “big bet” and a “transmedia play” for the corporation.
In total, Netflix has 16 games in development at its internal studios and 70 games in development with partners. Though Night School Studio’s Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is expected to release later this year, the majority of the games that Netflix’s own teams are developing are still in the very early phases. For the remainder of 2023, Netflix promises to offer brand-new games every month, including “indie darlings, award-winning hits, RPGs, narrative adventures, and puzzle games.”
Loombe stated that since Netflix began to offer games in 2021, it has discovered that players are primarily drawn to three types of experiences: games based on its own shows and movies, like Stranger Things, as well as games with familiar names from other media, like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge and Immortality.
I hope Netflix doesn’t concentrate just on those areas given its ambitions to become a top-tier game publisher. Whatever the case, it’s off to a great start. For instance, my favourite game of 2022 was Poinpy, a vertical platformer that doesn’t fit cleanly into any of those three genres.
You might ultimately be able to play Netflix’s collection on PCs, smart TVs, and even consoles because Netflix has stated that it is investigating cloud gaming. But mobile is where it really shines. The growth strategy for Netflix Games also revolves around ensuring that more people are aware of the fantastic games they can access as part of their membership.
