Netflix has announced a new, overarching strategy for its games business, as a means to “find [its] voice” in a crowded market. As reported by The Verge, the move is designed to refocus Netflix and its games offerings, with four genres defining which new games are released on the subscription platform.
These are: narrative games, multiplayer party games, games for kids, and “mainstream” releases, aka licensed tie-in games and original titles with widespread appeal. The aim is to have “more intention” in the games released, in the hopes fans will seek out a subscription for specific game pillars.
Notably, since Netflix began offering games, it has seemingly struggled to find an audience for them. While the platform houses an array of award-winning indie games and worthy original titles, it has rarely boasted about major successes, and it remains unclear just how engaged its audience is.
With its new strategy outlined, the company hopes to have more to boast about in future, particularly with new titles like the cosy Spirit Crossing (from Cozy Grove developer Spry Fox) on the way. Per Alain Tascan, president of games, the new four-pillar strategy is designed as a way to boost Netflix’s gaming profile, and help audiences define its offering.
“We’re starting with those [four],” Tuscan recently said. “Down the road we might add more if it makes sense, but I think starting first from these four is already a lot.”
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Netflix will scale back on AAA and indie games
Notably, as part of Netflix’s new games strategy, it will lean away from AAA and indie games, with more of a focus on publishing titles from its owned studios. While it will “continue supporting some” indie studios, Tascan has claimed “indie gamers are not really coming to Netflix to find indie games” and so, titles from other publishers will only be pursued when a game that “has been created independently fits one of those categories nicely.”
With this pivot comes the cancellation of plans for much bigger games at Netflix. In February 2025, it was confirmed the company had cancelled plans to publish six major games, including Tales of the Shire. In late 2024, it was also confirmed that Netflix had shuttered its AAA game studio, which comprised veteran developers of Halo and God of War.
On that note, Tuscan recently told Bloomberg the shuttering was part of the new four-pillar strategy, and in an effort to streamline the company’s offerings. “I don’t want this move to be seen as, ‘We’re not going to do big ambitious games,'” Tuscan said.
“It was just the genre of the game… I don’t think was matching the platform. This team was really good at what they were doing, but we wouldn’t have been the best partner for them to express their skills and their expertise.”
Going forward, Netflix hopes this new, more focussed strategy will help it to attract a new audience of gaming fans, with a clearer vision of what Netflix offers.
