Netflix’s marketing strategy is moving towards the horizontalization of content. To movies, series and documentaries, he has decided to add sports (to compete with Star Plus and ESPN) and video games.
In this last point, a few days ago it was known that it had launched games for phones in a few markets and, this September 29, that it has acquired Night School Studio, a company that develops video games.
The purchase has been confirmed by both Netflix and Night School Studio at this release, although they have not allowed the amount of the investment to transcend.
Although NSS is not one of the largest developers on the market, it rose to fame with its first title: Oxenfree.
Founded more than six years ago, Night School Studio is an SME with barely more than 20 employees.
Oxenfree, his most relevant video game, is a two-dimensional suspense story that is based on a system of conversations that alters the stories and the relationship between the characters according to the decisions that are made.
“In the last few months, we have had countless talks [con Netflix] about our respective visions about where we see video games, about storytelling, and about the collective opportunity for both companies to reach an agreement, “says Night School.
Netflix, in its announcement, qualifies its new purchase as a company with a “commitment to artistic excellence”, a “proven track record” and “creative capabilities.”
It will not be the last investment in this market segment. According to Mike Verdu, one of those responsible for the game development sector at Netflix, developers and professionals will continue to be sought to have “a large collection of exclusive video games designed for gamers of all ages and levels.”
From Night School Studio, meanwhile, they qualify their incorporation to Netflix as a “surreal honor”, while anticipating that they are developing a new version of Oxenfree. The Oxenfree 2 does not have a release date.
For now, Netflix has not advanced if the video games on its platform will be free, exclusive, if they will have advertising or will base their business structure on micropayments.
This is the game that will now be part of the Netflix strategy in this market segment: