Netflix Expands Game Services To European Market, Bringing Five Game Titles At Once

JAKARTA - Netflix is expanding its mobile video game service by launching three exclusive game titles for Netflix members in select European markets. The trio of casual games are Shooting Hoops, Teeter Up and Card Blast.

Now it's the turn of Netflix users Spain and Italy, as well as Poland to get the three exclusive games. The new game will be available using the same model.

Users can find it via the new “Games” tab within the Netflix app, members will be directed to a list of games on the Google Play Store for their region. Here, they will download and install the game just like they would any other app. But they need a Netflix account to play it.

Citing Techcrunch, Wednesday, September 29, this new game can be accessed for free to play, without ads or in-app purchases. In addition to the three new titles, Netflix is also giving the European market access to the popular series Stranger Things, the new game has no connection to any Netflix movies or shows.

Instead, they are simple casual games that are meant to appeal to a large number of players. Stranger Things represents an increase in Netflix's investment focused on making mobile games part of a broader entertainment offering, which is now expanding to include more than just streaming content.

The games will arrive in Poland today, where they will join the currently available Stranger Things title. Meanwhile, Netflix members in Italy and Spain will get access to a trio of new games and two existing Stranger Things games. So a total of five games that users can play.

Netflix Plans Game Market Expansion

During Q2 earnings, the company recently talked about its plans to expand into the games market, saying that the launch of five games in the European market is the initial stage to explore what this business model will look like.

“We see games as another category of content for us, similar to our expansion to original films, animation and unscripted TV. As we've had almost a decade of pushing us into original programming, we thought it was a great time to learn more about how our members value gaming," Netflix said.

Previously, Netflix explained that it chose Poland as its initial test market for mobile games because the country has active mobile game users. Meanwhile, the company noted that Italy and Spain were chosen as additional markets for the same reason and because the European market, as a whole, is an important market for Netflix.

Netflix said it plans to launch the game in other regions, including the US, at some point in the future, but it's unknown when. However, Netflix is also planning to bring its games to iOS.