Netflix's TV Games Finally Work
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- Netflix's TV games, launched last year, include Boggle and party titles tied to Lego and Knives Out, and use players' smartphones as controllers — no gamepad required.
- Netflix began offering games in 2021, but early reports suggested fewer than 1% of subscribers played them, and the company has since shut down its AAA studio and the team behind Squid Game: Unleashed.
- The new TV games live in a dedicated tab inside the main Netflix app, unlike earlier mobile games that were separate downloads, putting them alongside movies and shows.
- Spry Fox, developer of the upcoming Netflix MMO Spirit Crossing, bought itself out to go independent, while the AAA studio Netflix built shut down before ever shipping a game.
- Netflix's controller app was topping the iOS charts in April, per Game File's Stephen Totillo, suggesting early traction for the new TV-games format.
- The TV games are still in a limited beta, available on Roku sticks and smart TVs but not yet on Apple TV, and the lineup skews heavily toward family-friendly party games.
Why it matters: After burning through studio acquisitions, an AAA effort that never shipped, and fewer than 1% of subscribers touching its early games, Netflix's shift to TV games integrated into the main app is the first gaming bet tied directly to its core viewing experience. The format change — from buried mobile apps to living-room party games — gives Netflix a plausible path to making gaming a retention tool rather than a recurring cost center.
