Imagine flicking on Netflix not to binge a show but to play Boggle on your big screen, with friends grabbing their phones as controllers. That’s now a real possibility. With its bold move into TV-compatible gaming, Netflix is trying to turn your living room into a game night hub, launching party staples like Pictionary and more—all included with your subscription. But will this gamble change the game for streaming, or fizzle out midway through your next binge session? Read on to find out how (and why) Netflix is placing its biggest bet yet.
Netflix levels up with its first-ever TV party games
Netflix is turning game night into a living room event. On Wednesday evening, October 8, the Los Gatos–based streaming giant announced its first lineup of games designed specifically for the TV, signaling a major push into the gaming world.
This move, which aims to secure a bigger share of the competitive video game market, focuses entirely on a communal experience: social party games meant to be enjoyed with friends and family in the same room. The ingenious mechanism leverages the ubiquity of smartphones, which act as the controllers while the action unfolds on the big screen. This new form of entertainment is included at no extra cost with a regular Netflix subscription and is scheduled to roll out across the U.S. ahead of the holiday season.
Here’s what’s coming soon to your Netflix game library:
- LEGO® Party! – Gather your crew and dive into the ultimate LEGO showdown. Compete in laugh-out-loud minigames and search for gold across themed Challenge Zones packed with surprises.
- Boggle Party – Think fast! Race against time to uncover as many words as possible in a jumbled grid of letters. Go solo for a challenge or invite up to eight friends for a word-hunting party.
- Pictionary: Game Night – Get ready to draw, guess, and laugh out loud in this lively twist on Mattel’s beloved party classic. Sketch your way to victory before your friends crack the code!
- Tetris Time Warp – Travel through time and play Tetris like never before. Jump from the 1984 original to the Game Boy era in a retro-meets-modern race to rack up the highest score.
- Party Crashers: Fool Your Friends – There’s an imposter in your midst! In this clever social deduction game, one player is completely clueless — can you spot the crasher before time runs out?
Why Netflix is bringing games to your TV
Netflix is developing games meant to be played on TV for two primary reasons: to capture a share of the incredibly lucrative global gaming industry and to increase the value of its subscription service, making it harder for users to cancel. This strategy transforms the Netflix experience from a passive viewing platform into an interactive entertainment hub for the living room.
Tapping into a massive market
Netflix’s move into TV gaming is a direct pursuit of a new and massive revenue stream. The strategy was highlighted this past Wednesday, when Netflix co-Chief Executive Greg Peters announced the slate of TV games at a Bloomberg Screentime media conference in Hollywood, pointing to the sheer size of the burgeoning gaming market.
According to Peters, consumers spend $140 billion a year on gaming, an amount that excludes the Russian and Chinese markets and advertising revenue. Netflix sees a clear path to capturing a portion of that spending. “We think it’s a real opportunity for us to try and earn a percentage of that over a period of time,” Peters said at the event.
This isn’t a sudden pivot; it’s a calculated expansion. Netflix first announced its plans to expand into mobile gaming in 2021, acquiring several game developers like Glendale-based Night School Studios over time. After starting with mobile, the company has been testing games for the TV since 2023.
Increasing subscription value
Beyond chasing new revenue, the gaming initiative is a powerful tool for customer retention. By adding more forms of entertainment under a single subscription fee, Netflix makes its service stickier and gives users more reasons to stay.
In an effort to give subscribers more reasons to keep their subscriptions, Netflix has licensed and built mobile games, some of them based on such popular franchises as Too Hot to Handle and Squid Game. The new TV games build directly on this strategy. This is the first significant slate of TV games for Netflix, specifically designed to be played by one to eight players together in the same room on their TV, making it a social, living room-centric experience that adds a unique dimension to the subscription.
Netflix’s gaming report card
Netflix’s journey in the gaming space has yielded mixed results so far. While the streaming giant is making a calculated, long-term play, its gaming division has faced internal turbulence, including layoffs last year. The leadership saw a significant change earlier this year with the departure of Mike Verdu, the vice president of GenAI for games, who had been initially tasked with building the division.
Reflecting on these early efforts, Peters offered a candid self-assessment at the Bloomberg event, giving the company a “B-” on its gaming performance. Peters emphasized that the primary focus has been on establishing core infrastructure: “A lot of what we’ve been doing is really just building the foundation,” he stated. He added, “We’ve been doing a lot of real hard plumbing work, but now we’re getting to a really interesting place where we’re going to deliver more of what our vision of what we should be doing in the space is.”
Whether Netflix can quickly turn that “B-” grade into an “A” will depend on the success of its first slate of TV games launching before the holidays.
Sources: Los Angeles Times, 9to5Mac