Netflix reportedly aiming to offer 50 games to subscribers by the end of 2022
Will continue focusing on mobile "for now".
Following Netflix's initial dalliances with video games toward the end of last year, which saw the streaming service begin offering a small selection of casual mobile games to subscribers, the streaming service is reportedly looking to significantly ramp up its offerings before the end of 2022, expanding its gaming library to almost 50 titles.
When Netflix launched its fledging video game service last November, subscribers were given accees to a total of five games as part of their usual membership. That number has steadily grown since then, with Netflix currently offering 18 games to subscribers - but a new report by the Washington Post says the company is going big in 2022, aiming to offer nearly 30 more titles by the end of the year.
There's currently no indication of what these titles may be - other than that Netflix will reportedly be sticking with mobile games "for now" - but we do know the streaming service has been attempting to expand its video game development know-how since last year, in the form of three studio acquisitions. It now owns Texas-based mobile developer Boss Fight Entertainment, Next Games - which made Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales - and, as of last September, Oxenfree developer Night School Studio.
Although Netflix's focus will remain on mobile games for the time being, a source familiar with the company's plans told the Washington Post it's currently looking for "content opportunities around video games from every direction".
To date, Netflix has primarily focused on adapting existing games into TV shows - including the likes of The Witcher, Cuphead, League of Legends, and Castlevania - but it's also said to be planning to adapt its shows into games, and to put its name on more third-party titles, just as it did with last year's Hextech Mayhem: A League of Legends Story.
Netflix's goal, according to the Washington Post's report, is to "build out a games business that can create synergy between what people watch and what they’re playing."
Its most recently announced experiment in the video game space will see the company adopting a two-pronged strategy to adapt popular card game Exploding Kittens into a game, set to launch on the streaming service next month, and an animated TV series due next year.
Netflix's continuing push to expand its services away from its core video streaming offering makes considerable sense given the company is currently battling falling subscriber numbers and revenue - which it's blamed on password sharing and increased streaming competition.