Netflix’s President of Games, Alain Tascan, is expecting a future generation that relies less on gaming consoles as major players like Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo push forward with new hardware.
The lead of the streaming giant’s video game division shared his thoughts on how gaming fans might soon play their favorite titles during an interview with The Game Business that took place following a Netflix presentation in San Francisco. During the event itself, Tascan was asked if the streamer had any intention of taking a crack at console gaming, but he’s not so sure younger gamers are even interested in what something like a PlayStation 6 could bring to the table.
“[When it comes to] console, we started to look at the future where the platform is agnostic,” he explained. “Look at the younger generation. Are eight year-olds and 10 year-olds dreaming of owning a PlayStation 6? I am not sure. They are wanting to interact with any digital screen, whatever it is, wherever it is, even in the car. With console you’re thinking about high definition, you’re thinking about the controller […] If we look at this older model, I think it will restrain us.”
Tascan told The Game Business that he’s got a soft spot for console gaming despite his concerns, specifically calling out Nintendo’s Wii as a personal favorite. He’s spent many years at studios such as EA, Ubisoft, and Epic Games in the past, so the idea of more traditional console game releases is far from foreign for him. For Netflix, though, things are trending in a different direction.
While the company has a proven track record for creating game adaptations for its IPs with subscription add-ons like Stranger Things 3: The Game, Too Hot to Handle: Love Is a Game, and more, it’s also experimented with giving users access to notable, familiar games like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – The Definitive Edition. Each game can be played straight from a mobile phone if a subscriber chooses, and as Tascan clarified during that recent event, Netflix will be doubling down on this strategy as it develops party games and establishes itself as a hub for kids and gamer families.
“I am very vigorous about lowering friction and eliminating it if we can,” he told The Game Business. “I see that the subscription is friction as well. Maybe good friction because it makes business sense, but still we did the test of eliminating subscription for [mobile game] Squid Game: Unleashed. And we may do other tests.”
He continued: “But the other friction is having enough controllers for family. Having a piece of hardware that might be expensive, that’s another friction. Waiting for a game to download, that’s another friction. I am [looking at] all the obstacles, and asking if we can reduce them as much as possible.”
Netflix said in early 2024 that games engagement had tripled throughout 2023, signaling that it would continue investing in the space in the future after a 2021 CNBC report suggested less than 1% of subscribers were tapping into its games offerings. In October 2024, the streaming giant cut back on its gaming ambitions when it shut down its AAA studio headed by former Overwatch, Halo, and God of War developers. A Game Developer report from last month said cuts had also recently hit Oxenfree developer Night School Studio, a team Netflix picked up in 2021.
As Netflix seeks to tap into a market that it expects to be uninterested in game consoles, there’s little reason to doubt we’ll see something like a PlayStation 6 or next Xbox from Sony and Microsoft, respectively. Nintendo, meanwhile, is teetering on the edge of a brand-new console generation with its highly anticipated Switch 2 device. It will pull back the curtain on its new tech with a focused Direct presentation next week, with many fans expecting to hear more about what features the Switch 2 brings to the table, its release date, and how pre-orders are being handled.
Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
