Netflix has lengthy seen the strategic potential of gaming, but it surely’s struggled on execution. After intially fruitless dabbling in triple-A, the main target underneath gaming chief Alain Tascan has been on broader attraction. This week has seen the announcement of an unique FIFA partnership and the acquisition of avatar creation platform Prepared Participant Me; each observe a 12 months of regular improvement of its providing for kids, with age-appropriate cellular games now steered within the platform’s kid-friendly view. Throughout my latest work analysing the corporate’s strategy, I spoke to Lisa Burgess, GM Netflix Games (Kids) about how the streamer is considering play, discovery, and what comes subsequent.
Netflix has been constructing in games for a number of years now. Out of your perspective, what function do kids games play inside the broader Netflix ecosystem in the present day?
Lisa Burgess: The only means I can describe it’s the firm’s mission is to entertain the world. We do an awesome job with movie and TV exhibits, and stay is one other means we entertain. However an enormous a part of leisure is games, particularly for youthful audiences on cellular.
From the varieties of gaming you’re providing, it’s clear that Netflix isn’t trying to compete with console games or AAA income drivers, so that you’re attempting to personal a chunk of the gaming viewers however not the gaming trade as an entire. Would that be a good means of placing it?
That’s true. Yep, I like that.
Netflix has talked a couple of refined strategy and 4 pillars. How do kids games match into that?Kids is likely one of the 4 pillars. There are learnings that switch throughout all pillars, and issues which can be particular to kids. What’s most particular is that when kids get into an IP, they may wish to watch it and play it. That connection is tighter than it’s for adults. With adults, simply since you watch one thing doesn’t imply you wish to play that model of recreation. With kids, it typically does.
Games have lately began surfacing in kids profiles. What prompted that change?
It’s been a very long time coming. After I took this function in January, there have been loads of issues we wanted to do to have the ability to provide kids games correctly. Having kids games discoverable in kids profiles was one in all them, however there have been different foundations that had been extra pressing first.
What wanted to be in place from a security, UX, or parental management standpoint earlier than making that transfer?
Lots of it got here all the way down to having the appropriate parental gating inside our SDK. The SDK wasn’t essentially constructed to supply kids games in the way in which we needed. So it was extra prioritisation than inside debate.
How do you steadiness parental management with discovery and ease of entry for kids?
Parental controls aren’t new for us, we’ve had controls in kids profiles already. But it surely’s additionally a part of the inspiration work for games. We do shopper insights work with mother and father to know expectations and make certain we present up strongly there. Extra to return.
How do you concentrate on shared play, particularly as Netflix expands past cellular into browser and TV-based gaming?
The celebration and household area is basically fascinating. The GM main that pillar and I speak quite a bit as a result of there’s overlap. Household experiences the place folks play collectively on the TV, proudly owning that living-room second, and having the ability to do one thing on your cellphone and have it present up on the massive display screen.
One factor that’s necessary is designing for the youngest age you suppose will probably be utilizing it. If you’re designing for somebody who doesn’t learn but, it’s a must to make certain there isn’t textual content. Even in inside playtests, mother and father typically ask for extra directions, however kids can’t learn. The sport is designed for them. For household games you want that psychological mannequin, otherwise you want modes that don’t go away the youngest viewers behind.
What are you trying for when you think about IP to increase into kids games?
For kids, we needed to focus on issues which can be extremely recognisable, and that may fall into completely different classes. It may be huge IP that’s on our service. It may be toy or literary IP, ideally with a connection to the service. We would like it to be simple to know why we now have the sport. Particularly in preschool, when kids get into an IP they wish to watch it, play it, purchase the toys, put on it. At that age it’s like their finest good friend.
You’ll see that in what we’re launching. It’s both primarily based on huge IP, or one thing like Toca Boca Hair Salon, which could be very recognisable within the games area.
Is the present focus primarily preschool, or are you eager about older kids too?
The realm I focus on is eight and underneath. You’re proper that a lot of what we’ve chosen is skewing preschool. That’s been our basis. As we go into 2026, we’re pondering extra about how we develop nice experiences for six to eight, and IP that aligns to that viewers. It’s a more durable viewers. By six, some kids are already on Roblox and Minecraft, and the ecosystem will get extra aggressive, although not not possible.
How does Netflix outline success for kids games? What indicators matter most at this stage?
Basically, we take into consideration success as engagement, time spent taking part in games. We’re not eager about it the way in which most individuals take into consideration kids games, which is income. Lots of kids games are optimised round paywalls and getting paid subscribers, that first consumer expertise. We’re eager about engagement, which is transformative as a result of builders can focus on making a enjoyable recreation and an awesome recreation slightly than the paywall half.
What’s the timeline of success you might be constructing towards?
It’s difficult. The best way I describe it internally is it’s not about an finish state, it’s about trajectory. Are we shifting in the appropriate course?
We do have a look at exterior indicators too. We don’t share information, however one factor I can share is that within the US App Retailer on iPad (after touchdown gaming into kids profiles), three of the highest 10 free kids games had been ours. That’s an enormous achievement by way of trajectory. A 12 months in the past we began kids games, and now we’re ending the 12 months with that form of visibility.
Some games are designed particularly for kids, whereas others are merely kid-appropriate. How are you eager about that distinction as discovery expands?
Discoverability is a large a part of the journey. I take into consideration two classes. There are kids games made and designed particularly for the viewers they’re serving, and that’s an enormous a part of my focus.
Then there are games that kids play. That’s a barely completely different nuance. One thing like Solitaire may be kid-appropriate from a maturity ranking standpoint, however that doesn’t mechanically imply it belongs within the kids profile. We have now to do this work, just like how we curate what belongs in kids profiles for TV. There are games that 12-and-under will get pleasure from that must be there, however we have to determine our stance for games.
What are you most excited to construct subsequent?
We’ve been constructing foundations, together with foundations of the portfolio. Different issues we’re taking a look at are tendencies in what Gen Alpha will count on as customers. A type of issues is customization by default. Personalization turns into the expectation. How can we begin constructing for the way forward for what the subsequent era goes to count on?
You possibly can obtain a replica of the Netflix Kids Gaming report here.