The Rise of Gaming on Streaming Platforms: Netflix, YouTube, and Sling TV

The Rise of Gaming on Streaming Platforms: Netflix, YouTube, and Sling TV

In recent years, there has been a growing trend among media companies to bring games to their platforms. With increasing competition for user attention and dwindling attention spans, streaming services and apps are looking for ways to captivate their audience. One avenue they have explored is expanding into the gaming industry. It's no surprise, considering that the global gaming market is worth around $221 billion, making it a lucrative revenue stream to explore.

Netflix: A Diverse Portfolio of Games

Netflix, known for its vast library of movies and TV shows, has ventured into the gaming scene. The company offers a diverse portfolio of games, with nearly 100 titles available. These games include popular titles like GTA: The Trilogy, Assassin's Creed, and Monument Valley, among others. What sets Netflix apart from its competitors is its vast intellectual property (IP), allowing it to tie games to its original series like "Love Is Blind," "The Queen's Gambit," and "Stranger Things."

Netflix's gaming offering is free for subscribers of its streaming service and can be accessed through its mobile app on iOS and Android devices. Users can browse the game library and download the games separately from Google Play or Apple's App Store. To access the games, users need to have a Netflix subscription, which offers different pricing tiers: Standard with ads ($6.99/month), Standard ($15.49/month), and Premium ($22.99/month). Currently, there are no add-on purchases or ads, but this could change in the future.

Although Netflix entered the gaming industry in 2021, its offering didn't gain significant traction until recently. In 2023, the gaming section of Netflix's app was downloaded 81.2 million times worldwide from the App Store and Google Play Store. The company has been expanding its gaming section by introducing the ability to play games directly in a browser, testing a cloud gaming service, and introducing gamer tags.

YouTube: Embracing Gaming

YouTube has always been a go-to destination for gamers to livestream their sessions and create content about popular video games. In May 2024, the Google-owned video platform officially integrated gaming features into its service, giving users access to over 75 minigames. These games, called "Playables," are designed to be easy distractions for passing the time or playing casually in between watching YouTube videos.

Initially, YouTube's minigames were only available to Premium subscribers, but they are now free for all users. The games can be accessed on desktop, Android devices, and iOS devices, with no downloads required.

Sling TV: Arcade for TV Viewers

Sling TV, a streaming service owned by DISH, has launched a free gaming platform called "Arcade" to attract and retain users. This new feature allows viewers to play classic arcade games while simultaneously watching their favorite TV shows or movies. While the selection of games is currently limited to 10 titles, including Doodle Jump, Solitaire Clash, Tetris, and Wheel of Fortune, Sling TV plans to add more games every few months, especially before popular sporting events.

To access the Arcade, viewers can press down on the player while watching a show or film and click on "Interactive Features." The game will then appear as a split screen next to the content being watched, providing a convenient option for lazy TV days when binging reruns of reality TV shows. Arcade is available on Sling TV and Sling Freestream, the company's free ad-supported streaming service, but only on select devices such as Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Comcast, Samsung, and Vizio devices.

LinkedIn: Gaming for Connection

Not limited to entertainment platforms, LinkedIn has also ventured into gaming as a means to attract more users. In May, the professional networking platform launched three games on its platform: Queens, a Sudoko-style game; Crossclimb, a trivia game; and Pinpoint, a game similar to the New York Times' Connections game. These games are meant to foster connections with people in your LinkedIn network and can only be played once a day.

With companies like Netflix, YouTube, Sling TV, and even LinkedIn entering the gaming industry, it's evident that gaming has become a significant part of the streaming platform landscape. As user attention becomes increasingly competitive, these platforms are finding new ways to engage their audience and keep them on their platforms. Whether it's through offering a diverse portfolio of games, integrating gaming features, or creating gaming experiences tied to professional networking, gaming has become an essential strategy for these platforms to retain and captivate their users.