The New Netflix of Gaming
Today, there is a streaming service for everything: Cook shows, 8-minute mobile TV shows, sports. And of course, there’s Netflix.
The Los Gatos-based media company has made the idea of subscribing to services so familiar to users that a new idea also comes out every month attempting to be ‘the new Netflix’ of something or the other.
And some of those have come very close to becoming fan favorites. In fact, many over-the-top (OTT) services have given us great value, with the most prominent example being Spotify. But one industry that is still missing their Netflix stepsibling is gaming.
The gaming industry changed with the rise of Twitch (now Prime Gaming) and its acquisition by Amazon. Today, more than 7 million people watch streams from all over the world every day on the gaming platform. Every. Day.
So the fanbase is there.
But even with an official streaming platform for live gaming, the ability to pick and choose what you can play is still missing. So far, there has been no subscription OTT that allows you to game on-demand, and with whatever games you like best.
But some companies have been shaking things up.
Microsoft — Rated E for Everyone
For an extremely competitive industry, exclusivity has always been the play. But Microsoft is willing to break that stigma to get to the top.
Its recent acquisition of ZeniMax Media and Bethesda shows that the Xbox owner wants more people to play their games, even if Bethesda’s games aren’t exclusive yet. Counting on its ‘Game Pass’ subscription service to make waves soon, the tech giant is also bringing a unique gaming experience to your phone: The new X Cloud.
Their loyal audience also puts them one step ahead of the game but not so far from the pack, as competitors like Sony have new things coming.
But overall, by compiling all of their games into one mobile platform, Microsoft is technically dipping more than their feet into subscription waters.
Neighborhood Friendly
These kinds of moves warm up the playing field. Already a fierce player in the market, Sony’s PS Now also provides a subscription revenue, but it is resistant to make its mobile debut.
With an incredibly loyal audience and a vast array of titles in their wallet, Sony executives seem to be very patient at the moment, waiting for the right time to come out with something new.
The makers of Spider-Man have games of extreme quality and a range of titles that make it a noteworthy competitor, no matter if they are in our phones now or later. But at some point, it seems that the industry is heading that way, making OTT for games as competitive a battle as it is for movies today.
What’s Next
This moment presents an opportunity to reshape the industry and add to a system that has become way too familiar for us subscription addicts.
But even if I can pay for multiple subscription services, there are only so many hours in the day and so many games I can play.
But guess who is a subscription expert and also likes to reshape industries.
‘The Not So Underdog’ Underdog
Let’s restart the game and connect to one of the powerhouses: The owner of Prime Gaming. Amazon has an itch to break into new areas every often, but this is no ‘new area’ per se.
For Amazon, this is just too good an opportunity to pass up. The gaming subscription is just another reason why an Amazon membership should be the most attractive combo of every household. With a department gauntlet on their hands, Amazon gets a chance to dominate what (again) shouldn’t be the property of what was once just an online bookseller.
Amazon Game Studios has already launched many of their creations within the last decade, and it now holds the reins to the long-awaited New World.
There is tremendous value in having all of your favorite games sitting under one platform, and if that platform is also the place where I can get my new headset and groceries delivered, that makes gaming different.
The Showdown
Think boss-level but with no do-overs.
The next months in the gaming industry may give us something more than just newly awaited hardware. They can show us a peek on what the industry shapes up to be over the next decade.
To all companies, for that matter, this is a very delicate timing in their playing field: Interactive choices, new recommendations, extreme promotion, and handling of a new platform all seem to be coming up very fast in their priorities list.
It is now up to these brands to create the best experience one can have in their living rooms — looking at you, Amazon — and adapt well to the overwhelmingly fast-changing opinions gamers will have soon.
With the position of ‘Netflix of gaming’ still up for grabs, these recent movements create the first strides towards optimizing one of the most promising online industries today, all while meeting the requests of the most demanding customers in the world.
