Netflix Hires Mobile Game Creator For The Simpsons And Star Wars
Netflix has been trying itself out as a potential developer of interactive shows and computer games for several years now. So, in 2019-2020. streaming presented two games based on the series “Stranger Things” – an arcade and a mobile quest in augmented reality. A little earlier, the platform released an interactive film “Black Mirror: Brandashmyg”, in which the viewer had the opportunity to choose options for the development of the plot and influence the fate of the character.
The other day, the media reported that Netflix hired Mike Verdu, who previously worked at Electronic Arts and oversaw the VR division at Facebook, as the head of the gaming department. He has had a hand in creating a number of popular mobile games including The Sims, Star Wars, Unreal II: The Awakening, and Plants vs Zombies. In addition, streaming is officially looking for employees for its gaming division. The company's official website indicates that people with equally developed cerebral hemispheres will be ideal candidates for them. This is justified by the fact that such employees will be able to generate ideas needed in game development.
Video games are expected to be added to the online cinema as early as next year. At the same time, subscribers will not have to pay for them separately – they will be a free addition to the main streaming content.
In April 2021, Netflix lost its lead in terms of new subscribers. According to experts, streaming into the field of video games can go a long way toward reclaiming a lost audience. Immediately after the announcement of the imminent addition of games to the online cinema, the company's shares rose by 2.8%.
Ivan Moroz, director of projects at the localization company of games “Innova”, explained to Gazeta.Ru that the pandemic forced the business to reorient itself to online – and the companies that are able to offer the maximum number of niche products to their users remain in the black. “Netflix is a well-deserved leader in the entertainment industry, and the decision to enter the video game market is a logical extension of the company's ecosystem, which seeks to establish new contacts with its existing regular audience. Especially when the production of films and TV series was suspended, ”he said. Moroz also stressed that Netflix will not have any restrictions on the plot of the games.
“Games based on films, cinematic universes, TV series and cartoons are often created and find their audience – both on the side of loyal fans of the franchise itself and among gamers, – said the expert. – However, this is not a prerequisite: rather, you should expect that the company will start its own the way in gaming is from the licensing of games, and not from our own development, which requires a huge amount of resources, and most importantly – time. ” According to Moroz, the streaming service's entry into gaming territory will add loyalty to existing Netflix subscribers, as well as bring the company new users who will come to the platform for a new kind of entertainment content.
