CNBC is reporting that new data reported by app analytics company Apptopia indicates that less than one percent of Netflix’s 221 million users have downloaded the video games now included in its subscription service.
The numbers break down like this: according to Apptopia, games on Netflix have been downloaded a total of 23.3 million times for an average of 1.7 million daily users. That’d be a lot of users for a smaller service, but on Netflix, that means most of its subscribers haven’t touched the games in its catalogue.
In fact “most” would be a bit charitable. If Apptopia’s data is accurate, almost all of Netflix’s subscribers haven’t touched its video game offerings.
Before any doom and gloom befalls Netflix’s games strategy, we should note that for the moment, its game catalogue is a bit on the thinner side. Its most high-profile release to date was Into the Breach: Advanced Edition, a full version of Into the Breach plus new content that’s also available on Steam and the Nintendo Switch.
Netflix is working to add 50 titles to the platform by year’s end. Those titles will include a mix of adaptations of different Netflix shows and films, as well as games developed by Ustwo and Devolver Digital.
Those low numbers probably aren’t top of mind for Netflix execs, given that Netflix Games isn’t just hosting third-party titles, it’ll be the marketplace for games produced by Netflix’s three in-house game studios.
That said, Netflix’s business strategy is under intensified scrutiny after the digital distribution service lost over a million subscribers. Netflix did cut back on “spend growth” earlier in 2022, but it’s still investing at least $17 billion on content.
Today’s data is a useful benchmark for the future of Netflix’s games business. It’s still a relatively small service, built predominantly on mobile devices, where players have a pre-existing set of expectations for how mobile games work. How the service grows, and how many users it converts into game players, will be worth watching.