Netflix is continuing its push to bring out a diverse set of games — ranging from casual puzzle titles to AAA games — included for no extra cost with its streaming plans, on the theory that it will help drive up and retain subscribers.
Since bowing its first games globally in November 2021, the company has released 55 games. about 40 more are slated for later this year, which would bring the lineup to 95. In addition, Netflix Games has around 70 titles in development with partners, plus 16 games currently being developed by its in-house game studios, which include one in Southern California built around Chacko Sonny, the former Activision Blizzard executive producer behind “Overwatch.”
“Our goal is to have a game on Netflix for every one of our members,” said Leanne Loombe, Netflix’s VP of external games. As for how many of Netflix’s 230 million customers are actually playing its games, Loombe declined to provide figures but said the streamer is “super happy with what we’re seeing.”
One of its most-played games to date is “Too Hot to Handle: Love Is a Game,” released in December 2022 alongside Season 4 of the popular unscripted dating show, in which contestants are forbidden from any “sexual touching” (not even for themselves). Loombe said Netflix is teaming again with game studio Nanobit to release a second “Too Hot to Handle” game later this year, but she declined to provide details.
In the current “Too Hot to Handle” role-playing game (similar to the popular and long-running “Episode”) players create a personalized avatar and then “mix and mingle with sexy singles” in a turn-based adaptation of the no-sex competition series. According to the Google Play store, the Android version of “Too Hot to Handle: Love Is a Game” has been downloaded more than 1 million times. On Apple’s App Store, the game is rated “17+” including for “infrequent/mild sexual content and nudity” and “frequent/intense mature/suggestive themes.”
Other games coming to Netflix on a monthly cadence will include “indie darlings, award-winning hits, RPGs, narrative adventures, puzzle games and everything in between,” according to Loombe.
In January, Netflix Games debuted “Valiant Hearts: Coming Home,” the first of three exclusive games from Ubisoft for the streamer. Next up from Ubisoft, coming out on April 18, is “Mighty Quest: Rogue Palace,” a rogue-lite game set based on action RPG “The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot.” In 2024, London-based Ustwo Games’ “Monument Valley” franchise is coming to Netflix, starting with “Monument Valley 1” and “Monument Valley 2.” Loombe described the games as “emotional tales” that are “visually stunning and mind-bending.”
Netflix also shared that Super Evil Megacorp, the company behind “Vainglory” and “Catalyst Black,” is working on an exclusive game and transmedia experience based on an upcoming Netflix original.
Currently, the Netflix Games titles currently are mobile-only. Loombe noted that her boss, VP of games Mike Verdu, last fall announced plans to develop a cloud gaming offering to bring games to TVs and PCs. Said Loombe, “The overall vision is for members to play on any of their Netflix devices.” Loombe joined Netflix in November 2021 and oversees partnerships with outside game studios; she previously worked for game companies including EA and Riot Games.
This month, Netflix Games’ new and exclusive releases are “Highwater” (available now), set in a dystopian future on a flooded planet in which players must try to board a rocket to Mars to escape the climate catastrophe; and “Terra Nil” (available March 28), described as a reverse city-builder in which players transform a lifeless landscape into a vibrant ecosystem.
