Last weekNetflixshocked the internet with the announcement that it plans on adding video games to the roster of content available on its platform, with the additions coming as early as next year. Considering the transformative impact the subscription service has had over the world of cinema and TV, whatever shape the streaming giant’s plans take could have major ramifications for gaming. If recently unearthed internal IOS assets and images are to believed,a potential partnership with PlayStationcould be one the cards the company intends to utilize to get the ball rolling.
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Netflix’s Established Market Share
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PlayStation’s Expanded Content
One factor that lends credence to the rumor of a Netflix and Sony gaming collaboration actually happening is the fact that it wouldn’t be the first time that the two companies have worked together. Just this year alone, for example, both parties announced a landmark deal that’s set to ensureSony Pictures Entertainment moviesmake their way to the service after traditional stints as theatrical releases. It’s in this area, Netflix’s established film and TV connections, that Sony might be able to find a useful advantage over Microsoft and the gaming-centric Game Pass service.
Over the last few years, Sony as a wider entity has started to lean into the success of PlayStation and internally developed IPs more heavily. That process has in part led to are-emergence of the PlayStation Productions studio, which is now overseeing a whole slate of gaming adaptions based on the likes ofThe Last of Us,Twisted Metal, and several other projects. Partnering with Netflix therefore offers an opportunity for Sony to eventually promote these creations through the service, whilst simultaneously enabling viewers to presumably pick up a controller and stream the original games once they’ve finished watching.
There’s already signs that both parties involved are contemplating this symbiotic marketing strategy. It seems highly unlikely to be a coincidence that the officialcover art forGhost of Tsushimawas found within the IOS Netflix app data mine, considering a movie adaptation of Sucker Punch’s game is currently in the early stages of pre-production. Having already supported the creation of a wide array of gaming adaptations, including franchises likeResident EvilandCastlevania, there’s a chance that Netflix itself might be willing to directly assist the creation of PlayStation-themed shows in the future.
The sheer diversity of the potential content that the partnership could bundle together is one area that Game Pass currently can’t compete in. Based on Microsoft’s carefully chosen naming convention for its service, and commitment to produce more exclusive games, it seems unlikely that will change anytime soon. Despitethe long anticipatedHaloTV seriesfinally being slated for release early next year, right now it appears that Microsoft is comfortable letting the likes of Paramount handle distribution rights. Having a mix of games, TV shows, and films available through Netflix would enable to Sony to promote the collaboration as being a more feature-complete subscription in comparison.
Netflix’s Gaming Potential
What shape Netflix’s gaming push takes in general remains to be seen, as Mike Verdu’s assertion that some form of mobile content will be included is all that is really known. How Sony factors into those plans, if it even ends up doing so at all, is an even bigger question. If PlayStation games do become included, though, there’s a chance that the 800 or so games from the PS2, PS3, and PS4 eras that arecurrently available on PS Nowmight automatically get rolled into the service. With Xbox’s Game Pass offering Microsoft first-party content day-and-day, alongside third party games and EA access content, there’s the making of a titanic fight between two packed subscription services if theNetflixrumor proves true.
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