Netflix Partners With Ubisoft To Bolster Fledgling Gaming Division

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Financial Times: Netflix has teamed up with Ubisoft (Warning: source may be paywalled; alternative source), one of Europe's biggest video game companies, as the streaming giant seeks to bolster its fledgling gaming business. The California-based streaming service will launch three new mobile games next year based on Ubisoft's games, including its most successful title Assassin's Creed. The move comes as Netflix attempts to accelerate growth of its new gaming arm amid a slowdown in the company's streaming business. The streaming group has lost more than half of its market value since April when it revealed its decade-long subscriber growth had ended.

The partnership will entail the French gaming group developing the mobile games for Netflix. This will also include a game based on Ubisoft's Mighty Quest, a castle-building and monster-looting game, and the historical puzzle adventure game called Valiant Hearts. The games will be made available exclusively to Netflix subscribers, with no ads or in-app purchases, allowing Ubisoft to tap into new audiences and experiment with fresh formats for existing titles. No details of the deal value have been announced. "Netflix has launched 28 games and acquired three gaming studios, including Night School Studio, which makes the supernatural adventure game Oxenfree, and Texas-based Boss Fight Entertainment," notes the report. "The streaming giant plans to have a total of 50 games on its roster by the end of the year."

Gaming division?

[BacOs]

I've been a Netflix subscriber for over a decade. We get DVDs by mail (which includes advertisements on the mailer) and frequently use Netflix streaming. I've heard Netflix has gaming but know nothing about their offerings. They seem to be doing a horrible job promoting the service.

Re:

[Kisai]

Netflix, teaming with Ubisoft? That's a recipie for failure since Ubisoft licenses things and sucks at netcode for their store, for their games, for bloody everything. Ubisoft "the connection has failed, restart your game"

EA also bad. If Netflix is going to team up with anyone, they should team up with Microsoft itself.

Re:

[bug_hunter]

It's a bunch of mobile games (sometimes with tie ins to Netflix IP, sometimes not).

The games come for free with your subscription and have no mico-transactions, so a bit like Apple Arcade.

That said, I'm pretty sure I've downloaded a few and played none of them. That's not a knock on the quality of the games, there are definately some gems in there though, like "Into the Breach".
I just don't do much mobile gaming, and like you say, since the advertising is so bad I forget it's even a thing.

I'm much more like

Ubisoft = toxic brand

[Brain-Fu]

Ubisoft is notorious for its consumer hostile behavior. They sure wouldn't be my first pick.

Re:

[bug_hunter]

Yeah but the other likely candidate would have been EA, and for historic reasons I still rank Ubisoft above EA.

I'm trying to work out which other big name studio or publisher hasn't been bought out by Microsoft or Sony lately - as I think it might get a little conflicty going with a console maker.

2K? which might be just as toxic.

Sega maybe, but they mainly stick to their IP.

Also Netflix will presumably be making more mobile games with no micro-transactions, so I guess most anti-consumer practises from any o

Re:

[_merlin]

Sega's been owned by Sammy (effectively a gambling machine company) since 2004. Not exactly independent.

Just Buy Ubisoft Outright

[UMichEE]

Maybe Netflix should just buy Ubisoft? Netflix would become a real player in the games space overnight with the acquisition of Ubisoft. They could develop some Ubisoft IP into shows and they could incorporate Ubisoft's games into their fledgling games service. Netflix could get Ubisoft for fairly cheap and the company has been signaling its desire to be bought out or to "partner" with others.

Re:

[BackwardPawn]

This. Assassin's Creed would make for a great Netflix show. It could literally go on forever. Although, I couldn't give a shit about Assassin's Creed, I just want new management in there to make another Rayman. Too bad Netflix over leveraged themselves making crappy shows. I don't think they could afford Ubisoft.

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[UMichEE]

I totally forgot that they already made an Assassin's Creed movie. I wonder if the movie/TV rights are already owned by the studio that made the movie.

Re: Just Buy Ubisoft Outright

[mrproperz]

I wonder if the Ubisoft juice is worth the squeeze for a full buy out. They have some wonderful IP, but the franchise feels a bit stale by Netflix creativity standards. I could see Netflix licensing the right to some Ubisoft tv series instead of moving to inherit an entire distribution channel that specializes in little else except iterating on 20 year old games. Now if they were in talks with Rockstar.. that actually seems like an acquisition worth pursuing and would be way more mutually beneficial.

The world is overflowing with game companies

[AmazingRuss]

All Netflix is gonna do is get clobbered by them.

Give the money back

[Iamthecheese]

Large companies have forgotten what a company is supposed to do. When you're overcapitalized and expansion is a bad idea you give the money back to the owners. Taking those hundreds of millions of dollars and starting a new division or buying something ridiculous is generally a guaranteed way to lose your shareholders' money. The only thing it helps is the "crony" side of capitalism as practiced today.

This is not rocket science ...

[oshkrozz]

As of 2018, July, video games generated sales of US$134.9 billion annually worldwide

The video streaming industry reached $72.2 billion in 2021, with most of the revenue coming from the United States. It is projected to reach $115 billion by 2026
Netflix is smart to see this as a path for growth ...