We’re in a fourth floor suite in the Metreon building opposite the Moscone in San Francisco. This is the location Netflix Games has chosen to outline its vision for its video game business, which has so far looked bereft of direction following leadership changes, studio closures, and layoffs.
The streamer has spent years scaling up in a bid to break into the industry, but according to Netflix Games president Alain Tascan—who’s addressing journalists alongside VP of games and interactive experiences Jeet Shroff—the company “still has a lot of work to do.”
“It’s a journey that we are coming into and we need to scale and build our gaming business,” says Tascan. “We are not yet the Netflix of Games, but that’s exactly where we’re heading.”
To get there, Tascan feels the company must ruffle feathers. The former Epic exec, who replaced outbound Netflix exec Mike Verdu in July 2024, suggests the game industry has entered an era of stagnation and is crying out for change.
“I’ve been in the industry for a long time and we know there have been headwinds, unfortunately. Some of them are of course associated with cost […] but what I see is also, over the last 10 years, we haven’t seen a lot of disruption in terms of format and gameplay,” he says.
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“While nothing is guaranteed. If we continue doing the same stuff, there is a big chance we’ll get the same result. With Netflix and games [we] have an opportunity to drive real disruption and real innovation with regards to how games are distributed, on what platforms, how we interact with them, and how we engage with the community.”
To that end, Tascan says the company wants to forge deep connections with players by creating “Only on Netflix” moments. The hope is that a few of those experiences will have debuted by the end of 2025, providing subscribers—all of whom can access the company’s game roster at no extra cost—with a taste of what’s to come.
“[We want to give people] new ways to play and new ways to experience stories, by trying to blur the lines between linear and interactive. We’ve been saying that for 30 years [in the game industry] for the old people in the room, but I feel that we are at that point.
“I say sometimes to the team we have a golden ticket, so what are we going to do with it? I feel like this is a place where we can experiment and do things that hopefully will make history.”
Tascan believes success for Netflix would benefit the wider industry, helping to create a “blue sky in a place where there are dark clouds.”
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Netflix Games must prove its worth or risk being viewed as a “distraction”
Elaborating on how Netflix intends to execute on that vision, Shroff explains the company is taking some cues from Fortnite.
He explains the wildly popular battle royale title is something of paradox, surrounding players with the familiar trappings of shooting mechanics and multiplayer action while simultaneously offering something distinctly ‘new’ by incorporating metaverse elements in the form of celebrity skins and evolving seasons.
That juxtaposition is something Netflix Games hopes to replicate in its own way.
“You’ll see us doing a lot of things that are perhaps a little bit familiar and recognizable, and then there is this idea of then pushing them into the unexpected and getting a little bit uncomfortable. We like to say we’re uncomfortably excited,” says Shroff.
The familiar might be a title that leans on a big recognizable properties like Squid Game or a deal that brings a huge franchise like Grand Theft Auto to Netflix Games. Both of those things have, of course, already materialized.
Those safer bets might then allow the company to take bigger swings in the form of new IP—such as Spirit Crossing, the cooperative life sim unveiled by internal studio Spry Fox earlier today.
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“We just want to be really intentional about where we choose to [use IP] and how we do that, and then with the unexpected I think the focus is going to be on innovation,” continues Shroff. “We’re here to really push the boundaries of what’s possible. […] We want to challenge what you think a game can be.”
Shroff feels Netflix Games must display that sort of “bullishness” in order to move forward. Part of that drive will also see the company prioritize titles that can be played on the big screen.
“The other focus area is what we’re calling party games. We really want to reimagine what social engaging experiences can unfold in the living room,” he continues.
The company wants to explore that market by doubling down on the idea of smartphones as versatile and outlandish conduits of play—enabling Netflix’s party game experiences to “spill out into the living room.”
“With [smartphones] you have a second screen, you have a gyroscope, you have a speaker. You have so many ways to interact—along with the fact that you have information that perhaps is only available to you—so as people are playing there’s all this amazing social gameplay that can unfold,” adds Shroff.
“We’re really looking at pushing the boundaries of what party games—or couch play, as we call it—feels like.”
The size and scale of the family market evidently isn’t lost on Netflix. Tascan explains Netflix Games is also committed to becoming a “destination for kids,” and believes that providing parents with a safe place filled with high-quality games will be a huge boon.
He explains 15 percent of the Netflix subscriber base is already engaging with children’s programming, and believes it would be foolish of the company not to think about how its game experiences might serve that audience.
It’s evident that Netflix doesn’t intend to discount a single portion of its userbase. Tascan explains he wants Netflix Games to reach “hundreds of millions of people,” and that means matching the wider ambition of Netflix.
He says anything less could run the risk of turning Netflix Games into an unwelcome “distraction.”