Netflix has confirmed it will offer exclusive self-produced video games as part of its existing subscription plans to lure new customers.
The decision, confirmed in a letter to investors on Tuesday, was disclosed in the firm’s latest earnings report, which revealed disappointing subscriber growth for 2021.
‘We’re excited as ever about our movies and TV series offering and we expect a long runway of increasing investment and growth across all of our existing content categories,’ the letter to investors reads.
But since we are nearly a decade into our push into original programming, we think the time is right to learn more about how our members value games.
‘Games will be included in members’ Netflix subscription at no additional cost similar to films and series.’
Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings also discussed the decision with investors during a call on Tuesday.
‘The reason we’re doing them is to help the subscription service grow and be more important in people’s lives,’ he said.
The streaming giant reported gains of just 5.5 million subscribers in the first six months of this year – its weakest numbers since 2013.
