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Netflix Games recently announced 2K’s WWE wrestling games are heading to its mobile roster while abandoning release plans for six AA and indie games on top of last year’s decision to shutter its AAA studio.
According to a Netflix representative, these portfolio changes are in response to learning more about what the streaming platform’s members like, but what do these changes tell us about Netflix’s wider gaming strategy? We dive into the figures for Netflix’s mobile game Squid Game: Unleashed and analyze its monetisation model (or lack of) to get a better idea of what’s happening.
In last month’s issue of Licensing in Games, we recapped the biggest video game licensing integrations from 2024 and explored how the growing focus on evergreen IP from game studios is leading to a new golden age for licensed games. This month, we’re taking a look at the most exciting licensed games coming your way in 2025, and why the multiple failures from major studios to establish new IPs mean it’s going to be a busy year for IP licensing in video games.
You can find all of this below, along with the biggest news stories covering the latest IP integrations, crossover events, and collaborations from the last month.
A recent research report from management consulting firm Bain & Co had some timely advice for the creative industries: “Own the consumer, own the intellectual property (IP), or own nothing.” Or in words summarised by a Hollywood Reporter write-up: “To compete in ‘a world of tech mega-platforms,’ players will need ‘more cross-sector M&A and deals for IP.’”
Netflix Games seems to be listening, as it made a major pivot to its gaming portfolio by abandoning release plans for multiple AA and indie releases to focus on evergreen IP, a move best described in an excellent report by Kotaku journalist Ethan Gach as a “retreat into licensed gaming tie-ins.”
You’d be forgiven for not hearing of Netflix Games, as consumer awareness of its video game portfolio has been one of the biggest problems facing the streaming giant so far. In 2023, less than 1% of Netflix members engaged with the free video games available through membership.
For some quick background: Netflix Games launched in November 2021 with a small catalog of five games available to Netflix members. Over the years, it’s gone on to publish a fairly impressive catalog of quality but lesser-known indie games such as Oxenfree, Kentucky Route Zero and Spiritfarer on mobile devices alongside more established titles such as Sonic Mania and GTA San Andreas.
At the same time, Netflix had been experimenting with studio acquisitions and even establishing its own studio, Blue, which was developing a AAA title but closed down in October 2024. Developing AAA games is expensive, and Netflix likely didn’t see a way to recoup the nine-figure development costs as all of the games on its platform don’t contain microtransactions (in-game purchases).
Rather than using its video game portfolio as a new revenue stream, Netflix’s strategy seems to be keeping subscribers locked into its ecosystem, positioning its video games as a value add and a USP with plenty of growth potential when compared to competitors such as Prime Video and Disney+. With membership costs for streaming platforms gradually increasing, Netflix Games could soften the blow of future price increases, or at least open up new tiered options for members specifically interested in its video games.
A growing focus for Netflix over the last year – alongside locking in mobile exclusives for popular franchises such as Football Manager and most recently WWE – is publishing video games based on Netflix IP such as Stranger Things, Too Hot to Handle, Emily in Paris, and most recently, Squid Game. As reported by Kotaku’s Ethan Gach, Netflix’s co-CEO Gregory K. Peters described Netflix’s gaming formula in the fourth-quarter earnings call as “enabling this virtuous cycle between linear content and simultaneous game offerings,” before going on to say:
“...we already see how this approach not only extends the audience’s engagement with the universe and a story but also creates a synergy that reinforces both mediums, the interactive and the noninteractive side.”
So, how is this strategy going so far? Here are some top line figures gathered by us on February 5th 2025 from mobile analytics platform Sensor Tower:
Interestingly, while Netflix IP games such as Squid Game: Unleashed which was released in December 2024 have an impressive number of downloads, we’re not seeing any conversions to paid memberships. However, this reflects the strategy shared by Netflix’s co-CEO when he spoke about the “virtuous cycle between linear content and simultaneous game offerings”.
Most people downloading Squid Game: Unleashed are doing so because they’re already fans of the IP and want a way to experience the IP outside of the TV series – also shown by the thousands of Squid Game IP rips on UGC platforms such as Roblox.
Of course, an obvious question here – and one that many analysts have been pondering away at in Discords and Slack channels – is why doesn’t Netflix embrace monetisation mechanics within its games or license its IP to external studios?
A logical answer to that first question might be that after spending the last three or four years experimenting with its own studio, Netflix doesn’t want to put additional resources into maintaining and managing LiveOps and monetisation strategies across multiple video games.
On the second question, it absolutely makes sense for Netflix to expand its IP into video games outside of its mobile portfolio – and it’s already doing so. Stranger Things VR for the Meta Quest is a great example of such a title, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see more major hits from the streaming giant making their way onto PC and console in the future.
While there’s a lot of uncertainty around what Netflix will do next with its IP, the recent announcement that 2K’s WWE will land on Netflix Games as a mobile exclusive highlights the new focus on owned and licensed evergreen IP, rather than indie darlings.
2024 was another tough year for the video game industry, but particularly rough for game studios trying to launch new IP. Sony’s live-service shooter Concord, which reportedly cost more than $400 million to develop, flopped harder than anything in Hollywood history and possibly the entertainment industry. Bandai’s fantasy game Unknown 9, which was planned to be an “ongoing series, supported by podcasts, comics, novels, and several web series, was also canned after disappointing sales.
The business landscape around launching new video game IP is becoming so difficult that some established studios are pivoting their business model. UK game giant Sumo Games, best known for titles such as Sackboy: A Big Adventure, DeathSprint 66, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Still Wakes the Deep, recently announced it will no longer develop its own properties and instead focus on co-development work.
One of the biggest challenges for game developers is pulling people away from the game franchises they’re already invested in. As Matthew Ball’s State of Video Gaming 2025 report reveals, only 6.5% of gametime on PC, console and Xbox in 2023 was for new games, with live service titles and annual releases such as Fortnite, GTA V, EA Sports FC and Call of Duty taking up more than 90% of the remaining game time.
The answer to these challenges, as a growing number of studios are now realising, is to double down on evergreen IP that players have spent years and sometimes even decades forging a connection with. Of course, the challenges around live service elements still remain, best evidenced by games such as Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and MultiVersus. But this is giving rise to a revival of single player and narrative-focussed games built around licensed IP.
Here are some to keep an eye on:
While there have been plenty of Bond games over the years, none have come close to matching Goldeneye on the N64, which is still regarded as one of the best licensed games ever made. That said, a new bond game (currently dubbed Project 007) made by the same team responsible for the Hitman series, stands a good chance at taking everything that made Goldeneye so special – revolutionary gunplay, expansive levels and plenty of bond gadgets – and bringing them into the modern century.
George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones books (or HBO’s TV series, whichever you jumped into first) couldn’t be better suited for a licensed video game, but fans are yet to experience the epic RPG they’ve been crying out for. Game of Thrones: King’s Road was revealed at The Game Awards, and while some might be disappointed by the fact it’s a mobile exclusive, the game is an open-world action RPG and its being developed by the very capable Netease. It’s ticking all the right boxes so far.
Alien Isolation was a huge success when it launched back in 2014. By choosing to focus on survival horror rather than action-focussed gunplay, Creative Assembly finally gave Ridley fans the Alien game they were waiting for. On the 10th anniversary of the game in October 2024, Creative Assembly announced they are working a sequel. Perfectly timed, given the recent success of Alien: Romulus and an upcoming TV series spearheaded by Fargo’s showrunner putting the Alien IP in one of the strongest positions it’s been in a long time.
While it’s fair to say there’s a lot of fatigue in Hollywood for Marvel’s multiverse blockbusters, we’re starting to see the entertainment giant making more of a push into video games. While the video game adaptations for properties such as Blade and Wolverine on the PS5 are still some way away, Marvel fans still have 1943: Rise of Hydra to look forward to this year. Amy Hennig, best known for her work at Naughty Dog on the Uncharted trilogy, is serving as producer and lead writer for the action-adventure game. Check out the story trailer here.
Back in October 2024, video game publisher Devolver Digital announced a new label specializing in licensed games. This follows the success of licensed games previously published by Devolver such as John Wick: Hex; Reigns: Game of Thrones; and Hellboy Web of Wyrd. According to The Verge, “Big Fan seeks to keep the trend going, saying that ‘independent games created in these universes can explore them in new and unexpected ways, and it’s our goal to raise the bar of what fans can expect.’”
Here are some of our other favorite brand collaborations, licensing deals, and partnerships from the last month.
And in other news…
