Netflix Games Expansion: 86 New Titles and Squid Game Adaptation Coming

Over the last several years, fans have seen Netflix grow in all the right ways. Apart from being a video streaming platform, the firm has also developed an interest in gaming and has released a variety of intriguing and thrilling games on the site. At the time of writing, the platform has 40 titles, including the recently released Grand Theft Auto Trilogy: The Definitive Edition.

Netflix Has Some Exciting News About Netflix Games' Future

The firm has now revealed that by the end of the year, the platform will have 86 games accessible that are free with a Netflix membership and do not require any commercials, in-app purchases, or other costs. The platform has also said that about 90 games are now under development.

In addition, Netflix has revealed that four new games will be released in 2024. You may learn more about them by reading the following:

• Sonic Mania Plus - Coming 2024 - Exclusive to Netflix Games and on mobile for the first time, experience the ultimate celebration of the past and future in Sonic Mania Plus. Multiple playable characters give you the ability to go explosively fast as Sonic, soar as Tails, or power through tough obstacles with Knuckles’ brute strength. You can relive the Sonic of the past with an exciting new twist on classic zones while fighting against new bosses and Dr. Eggman’s evil robot army. Sonic Mania Plus was developed by Christian Whitehead, Headcannon, and PagodaWest Games in collaboration with Sonic Team. Welcome to Sonic Mania Plus!
• Game Dev Tycoon - Coming 2024 - Replay the history of the gaming industry by starting your own video game development company in the ‘80s. Research new technologies and run your business. Create best-selling games and gain worldwide fans. New in the exclusive Netflix edition: Develop games based on some of your favorite films and TV series. Test your decision-making skills in bespoke story events and explore marketing opportunities with content creators.
• FashionVerse - Coming 2024 - Your game, your style. Design your own fashion, become a trendsetter, and embrace your unique style in FashionVerse: the first AI-enhanced, 3D mobile Fashion game featuring inclusive models in photo realistic scenes, offering heightened creativity to all players. Dress up diverse models, create stunning outfits, and compete against others in glamorous challenges. Show off your creativity, earn rewards, and make your mark.
• Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit - Coming 2024 - Embark on a heartwarming adventure in Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit, the sequel to Spry Fox’s beloved life-sim game Cozy Grove. As a Spirit Scout on a haunted island, you’ll once again befriend and assist an unusual assortment of troubled ghostly bears. In addition to all new ghost stories, Camp Spirit comes with new activities (ever want to powerwash a ghost with a blowfish?), new furry companions with stories and abilities of their own (“can you pet the dog” is such a low bar...) and much more. Get ready to swear the Spirit Scout oath once again, in Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit!

In addition, Netflix will release a game set on the setting of its smash program “Squid Game.” Not to mention, Super Evil Megacorp is working on a “Rebel Moon” game that will take place after the events of “Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire” and “Rebel Moon — Part Two: The Scargiver.”

Netflix Makes Big Data Transparency a Priority

Netflix has made its most significant move toward data transparency yet, releasing a comprehensive breakdown of watching time on the platform in the first half of 2023, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

Between January and June, more than 18,000 movies and TV seasons were seen globally (18,214 in total). Those 18,214 films received at least 50,000 hours of viewing over the six months, accounting for over 99 percent of all viewing on Netflix, said VP of strategy and analysis Lauren Smith during a statistics presentation on Tuesday. It is the most in-depth look into viewing that Netflix (or any other streaming service) has ever made public.

“The Night Agent” was the most popular title on Netflix in the first half of 2023, with 812.1 million hours of streaming. “Ginny & Georgia” Season 2 came in second with 665.1 million hours, followed by Korean drama “The Glory” (622.8 million hours). Despite being published in November 2022, “Wednesday” placed fourth with 507.7 million hours of viewership.

In the report, the business uses total hours viewed to evaluate user engagement rather than the "view" methodology (total watching hours divided by running duration) that it uses to compare titles in its weekly top 10 lists.

The top of the ranking is dominated by original series and movies, but Smith said the ratio between original and licensed titles was more even: about 55 percent of viewing was for originals and 45 percent was for licensed shows and films. “Suits,” which topped the Nielsen U.S. streaming rankings for much of the summer and fall, has a total of 599 million hours of viewing over all nine seasons on Netflix. The first season of the program was the most popular, ranking 67th with 129.1 million hours.

On the other hand, slightly more than 20% of the titles on Netflix's list (3,813 in total) received relatively little viewership. The business rounded them to 100,000 hours, but they would fall between 50,000 and 149,999 hours - scarcely a blip on the streamer's total watching hours of more than 100 billion for the six months.

In terms of time, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos stated that the firm has been on a "continuum" of becoming more open as its streaming business has evolved. “It wasn’t in our interest to be that transparent because we were building a new business, and we didn’t want to give any competitors a roadmap. Creators liked it too, because they were free from the pressure of ratings,” he stated earlier on.

However, Sarandos said that Netflix's lack of openness has the unintended result of "creating an atmosphere of mistrust over time." “This is probably more information than you need, but it creates a better environment for us, for the guilds” — who won some key concessions on data transparency in settling labor strikes this year — “for producers and creators, and for the press,” he added.

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