Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy — The Definitive Edition is coming to Netflix. That’s it. That’s the news. And it’s big. You might not associate Netflix with games, just yet, but now and through 2024, the streaming giant is planning a “go big, or go home” roaster that should get you to notice “definitively”.
As part of the arrangement— called Netflix Games— the 2021 remasters of Rockstar Games’ critically acclaimed GTA III, GTA: Vice City, and GTA: San Andreas, will be available to subscribers on any Netflix plan, completely “free to play”. In India, the games will be playable starting December 15, 2023. You will be able to play them on your Android phone and tablet, or iPhone and iPad directly within the Netflix app or download them separately on your preferred device from the Google Play and Apple’s App stores. Pre-registrations are live at the time of writing.
So, what does all this mean and why does Netflix suddenly want to do games? Well, to be clear, it’s been two years since Netflix announced its foray into gaming with a vision to keep its subscriber base engaged in between their binge-watching sessions. Stranger Things seemed like an obvious choice for a head start and over the years, the list has grown to more than 80 from titles based on Netflix’s own IP, to “big recognisable game franchises to indie hits,” and while that’s all well and good, those numbers haven’t really translated into active players with analyst reports suggesting less than one percent uptake despite the growing catalogue.
Co-CEO Greg Peters said during a recent earnings call that the response isn’t unusual reiterating that “When we’ve [Netflix] launched a new region — or when we launched new genres, like unscripted [we had to] crawl, walk, run, but we see a tremendous amount of opportunity to build a long-term centre value of entertainment.”
That centre or source of value is among a bevy of bets that Netflix is making for potential revenue growth to offset concerns of a saturated subscriber market in the future. The others being sports and retail. And while efforts like crackdown on password sharing have proven “profitable”, a company of the scale of Netflix must always keep a plan B, or C, and more, handy to pacify investors, keep them interested. And so, doubling down on games that set the course for the industry seems a given. If you’re going to do something, then do it right— and that’s what Netflix is doing. GTA is not alone. Its 2024 roaster is packed to the gills with heavyweights like Katana Zero, Death’s Door, Hades and more, still to be announced. Whether or not, the bet pays off remains to be seen.
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