What’s with games on Netflix?

Hi, I’m Saurabh 👋. I write in-depth analyses on the growth of popular companies. I cover their early-growth strategies, current growth levers, and the business-building lessons we can learn from them.

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Read time: 3 minutes 42 seconds 

Let’s get to it.

Lately, Netflix has been quietly slipping games into my feed. (Possibly, yours too!)

After a point, it got into my head, and I was like, “Why Netflix?” So, I did some digging.

It turns out that Netflix announced its intentions for gaming three years ago. In 2021, Netflix said that “games are a strategy to keep subscribers engaged in between seasons of their favorite shows.”

Netflix’s move into gaming is part of a broader strategy to create new revenue streams as a way to expand beyond a saturating subscriber market.

However, Netflix isn’t the only one exploring mini-games as a growth strategy.

1. LinkedIn offers puzzle games like Queens and Pinpoint, giving users a quick mental break from work.

2. YouTube has introduced Playables, allowing users to enjoy mini-games while browsing the platform (currently available in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia).

In fact, emerging apps like Elo Elo in India have integrated gaming with content consumption as their core business model right from the start.

Why Mini-Games Work?

⏳ Engagement frenzy: Games, in the middle of content overload, provide a break and keep engaged for longer. That’s crazy for SEO.

🕺 Social validation: Problem-solving games (like Wordle on LinkedIn) prove your expertise and bring recognition amongst friends.

🔄 Viral potential: Great games spread on their own. Players share high scores, challenge friends, and discuss them on social media.

🎏 Streak flywheels: daily streak rewards get people hooked (like Duolingo and Elevate). Play every day, level up every time!

😍 Memorable marketing: It’s exciting! Games stand out in a sea of blogs, e-books, and webinars.

Should you add short games to your company too?

It depends on what you are aiming for. Here are key situations when it makes sense to add a game:

Want to boost user engagement? If your app needs to increase user interaction, retention, or time spent within the app, adding a game can offer a fun, interactive experience that keeps users engaged.

Want to improve reward systems? Games can be used to reward users for achieving certain milestones, completing tasks, or interacting with your app regularly. Example: Lanebreak from Peloton

Want to deploy training in a fun way? If your app is focused on learning, games can help reinforce knowledge in a fun and interactive way, making the learning experience more memorable and enjoyable. Example: Unacademy’s Compete 

Are you aiming to enhance your brand identity? If you want your app to stand out from the competition and offer a unique, branded experience, a game that aligns with your brand can create a memorable and engaging interaction for users. Example: Netflix’s owned-franchises games like Stranger Things and Too Hot to Handle

🗝️Applying ‘Mini Games’ to your business

You might be wondering, “How can I create a mini-game for my company?”

Well, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. The trick is to take an existing game and tailor it for your audience - using specific lingo and banter. 

Here's how 👇

Step 1: Steal with pride 

Study proven games that work and twist it. Let’s take 5 games I like and take them through all the steps. 

🟩 Wordle: The classic word-guessing game

🎬 Framed: Identify the movie by analyzing a series of screenshots.

🔲 Gridland: Match, build, and survive the world

📎 Universal Paperclips: Manage a paperclip factory and aim for global domination.

🦖 Chrome’s Dino Game: The ultimate time-killer when your internet connection fails.

🎬Action plan: Pick one of those games and re-create it. Consider outsourcing if your internal devs do not have the bandwidth.

Step 2: Make it ultra-niche

Rebrand the game to make it super niche as per your audience.

How?

👉 By using industry-specific lingo in the story/graphics/sound

👉 Reference inside jokes

👉 Create characters based on industry stereotypes

Example:

For a Hindu faith-tech app,

Wordle: Guess the name of the deity, famous slogans like “Jai Shri Ram”

Framed: Find the “dham” (shrine)

Gridland and Universal Paperclips: Help Arjuna in preparing for the war against Pandavas

Chrome’s Dino Game: Run the god’s ride (Rat for the Hindu deity Ganesha) in a forest to reach the god and eat modak (a sweet delicacy that Ganesha loves). Chime the slogan Om Ganeshay Namah when the rat reaches God.

Step 3: Hook users

Make it impossible to play just once:

👉 Build everyday challenges (like Sudoku)

👉 Make tiered levels based on difficulty

👉Unlock achievement/streak-based rewards (both in-game and off the game)

Continuing with the faith-tech app example, a streak of 14 days gets you 10% off on your next temple tour plan or physical Hindu books delivered to your home. 

Step 4: Make social it’s DNA

Build viral loops into your game:

👉One-click social sharing of scores/achievements

👉’Beat my score’ challenges

👉Tiered referral rewards

Step 5: Keep it simple

Remember, your game is to add engagement, with a slight distraction from the core value proposition. Hence, focus on:

👉 Max 3-minute playing sessions

👉One-thumb playability

👉 Brand love

Games are bigger than Hollywood and they are not going away. (Read more…)

Until next time! 👋

Saurabh