Netflix May Develop a Grand Theft Auto Game
Netflix is getting ready to boost some cars for cash – or to let you do it, at least. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal (which is behind a pay wall, but IGN has the details) revealed that Netflix is considering developing and releasing a Grand Theft Auto game on its gaming platform, Netflix Games. This is not going to be an entry in the main Grand Theft Auto series, but some kind of spin-off, and since Netflix Games is currently only available to play on mobile devices, this will be a mobile game unless it’s very far off. Netflix has spent $1 billion on games so far, and it’s looking to branch out into AAA content, with Grand Theft Auto being its biggest push if it comes to pass.
If you’re anything like me, this is the first you’ve heard of Netflix having a gaming platform. That makes sense, though; according to IGN, only about 1% of Netflix subscribers use the gaming service on a daily basis. And why would they? There are plenty of gaming platforms out there that are known for and focus solely on video games. That’s not even considering that Netflix Games is only a mobile gaming app with no TV or computer capabilities. And so far, it doesn’t seem to be making a profit for Netflix, which, again, is hardly a surprise. Doing something big like developing a Grand Theft Auto game may be a good long-term play, but if Netflix Games is never successful, it’s a bundle of money down the drain. Netflix has weathered the streaming wars and become either the only profitable streaming service or one of the very few, so I hesitate to count them out too soon, but I get the feeling they may have bitten off more than they can chew with this one.
