The trend of media companies offering games on their platforms has been unfolding in recent years.
In a world where consumer attention is increasingly competitive and attention spans are shrinking, streaming services and apps are looking for ways to capture their audiences. It makes sense for companies to expand into games to keep users on the platform: The global gaming market is worth about $221 billion, making it an attractive revenue stream to explore.
Here are the latest companies entering the gaming scene and details on each offering, including pricing, sample titles and supported devices.
Netflix games
Netflix has a diverse game portfolio spanning nearly 100 games, ranging from popular titles like GTA: The Trilogy, Assassin’s Creed, and Monument Valley, among others. And compared to other competitors on our list, Netflix has the upper hand thanks to its vast IP, growing its library of games tied to original series like “Love Is Blind,” “The Queen’s Gambit,” “Stranger Things” and more.
Netflix’s gaming offering is free for subscribers to the streaming service and is available through the mobile app on iOS and Android devices. Players can browse the game library and after making their selection, they can download the game separately from Google Play or Apple’s App Store.
People who want to try the games must pay for a Netflix subscription: Standard with ads ($6.99/month), Standard ($15.49/month), and Premium ($22.99/month). There are currently no add-on purchases or ads, but this may change.
Netflix entered the gaming industry in 2021, but its offering didn’t gain significant traction until recently, earning 81.2 million downloads worldwide on the App Store and Google Play Store in 2023.
The company has expanded its gaming section in many ways since its initial launch. For example, it was recently spotted experimenting with the ability to play games directly in a browser. The company has also introduced gamer tags and is testing a cloud gaming service.
Play on YouTube
Gaming seems like a natural opportunity for YouTube to explore, as it has always been one of the favorite destinations for gamers to live stream sessions and create content for popular video games. The Google-owned video platform officially integrated gaming features into its service in May 2024, giving users access to over 75 mini-games.
Dubbed “Playables,” YouTube’s offering includes a decent selection of titles, including popular games like Angry Birds Showdown, Cut the Rope, Trivia Crack, and 8 Ball Billiards Classic, among others. Games are primarily meant to be an easy distraction to pass the time while traveling or casually played between YouTube video-watching sessions.
While YouTube minigames were previously only available to Premium subscribers, they are now free to play for all users. The offer is available on desktop, Android and iOS devices. No downloads required.
Sling TV Arcade
As Sling TV faces challenges keeping up with its competitors, the DISH-owned streaming service has launched a free gaming platform called “Arcade” to attract and retain users. The new feature allows viewers to play a variety of classic arcade games while simultaneously watching their favorite TV show or movie.
The selection of games is currently small, with only 10 titles available, including Doodle Jump, Solitaire Clash, Tetris and Wheel of Fortune. The company previously told TechCrunch that it will continue to add titles every few months, especially before popular sporting events.
While watching a show or movie, press down on the player and click Interactive Features to pull up Arcade. Once you select a game, it will appear as a split screen next to the content you’re watching, which is handy for lazy TV days when you’re watching reruns of a reality TV show. There is also an option to expand the game to full screen.
Arcade is available on Sling TV ($40-$45/month) and Sling Freestream, a free ad-supported streaming service. However, it’s currently only on select devices: Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Comcast, Samsung, and Vizio devices.
LinkedIn also has games
Games are not exclusively explored by entertainment platforms. LinkedIn’s foray into gaming marks a significant expansion for the company, positioning it as more than just a professional networking platform.
In an effort to attract more users, LinkedIn announced in May that it was launching three games on its platform: a Sudoko-style game called Queens, a trivia game called Crossclimb, and Pinpoint, which is similar to the New York Times’ Connections game.
Each game is designed to encourage connection with people in your network and can be played with first-degree connections, meaning people you are directly connected to on LinkedIn. Games can only be played once per day.
