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Before you ask, yes Netflix does have games. And now, almost two years after Netflix launched its gaming division, the streaming giant is in talks with publisher Take-Two Interactive to bring Grand Theft Auto to the platform.
Netflix’s games division has been pretty low-key since its launch, mainly operating in the mobile-gaming sphere for tentpole series’ like Stranger Things, Squid Game, and Wednesday. Beyond the crop of its original mobile games, Netflix also offers other licensed games like Ballons TD 6 and Valiant Hearts. For subscribers, all these games are free to play through the Netflix app, with the goal being to retain their users instead of using the games to bring potential customers in.
Now it seems that Netflix is going all-in with its games division with news that the streaming service is seeking to add a cloud gaming service to stream higher-end games — in the same vein as Xbox Cloud Gaming. This is all according to a report from The Wall Street Journal, which says that the streaming service is collaborating with Take-Two for a licensing deal to release a game within the GTA universe.
On top of that, the scope of Netflix’s gaming plans extends beyond Grand Theft Auto. Netflix is reportedly seeking potential games for its Sherlock Holmes series, the Chris Hemsworth-helmed Extraction franchise and Black Mirror. As such, it’s clear that Netflix is not only seeking to compete with the big boys in the cloud-service gaming industry, but it’s using the gaming division as a vehicle for retaining subscribers.
This tactic is reminiscent of the strategy Netflix used when it splurged on Friends and The Office to fund its original programming.
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