Netflix might add in-app purchases and ads to its games no one plays

According to a recent report, Netflix is currently figuring out how to make more money from its games, supposedly considering introducing ads and in-app purchases.

This comes from The Wall Street Journal (paywalled), who apparently spoke to "people familiar with discussions" currently happening at Netflix. These sources say that various suggestions are being made as to how the streaming company could bring in more money through its games, the notable ideas being the addition of ads, in-app purchases, and even charging a premium for certain games. Ads would only appear on the ad-supported tier, and it's unclear how in-app purchases might work; presumably this is for games it publishes itself as opposed to games it licences.

At this point in time, its library of games are available to users at no extra charge, meaning if you have any subscription tier, you can play the games it has on offer. That includes indies like Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals and Death's Door, as well as bigger names such as GTA: The Trilogy. The selection is still pretty small at this point in time though, but there are more games on the way, like one of the best roguelites around, Hades.

If Netflix wants to become the Netflix of games, though, it has its work cut out for it. While the stat is a bit old by now, as of August 2022, less than 1% of Netflix subscribers play its games daily. It's not a confidence-inspiring percentage, and considering the only actual big names on there are the GTA remasters, I personally don't think it will be much higher at this point in time. If Netflix introduces ads or in-app purchases before it even has a fully fleshed out library, I don't see it going down particularly well with subscribers. For now, we'll just have to wait and see.