It seemed as if Netflix was going to gamble on gaming, with the announcement that Minecraft: Story Mode comes to the streaming service. Story Mode is a five-part interactive series in which you as a viewer can influence how the story progresses by choosing what needs to be done at certain points. Naturally, that concept lends itself perfectly well to Netflix, because you always have something at hand to be able to interact with the screen, whether it is a remote control or a finger.
That is not only a nice title for Netflix to have, but it could also mean something for the future of the Netflix business. Are these kinds of interactive things being developed? Will Netflix soon also be streaming games? Not at all, according to a reaction from Netflix on the news. By Techradar they say that they have “no plans to go to gaming.” Games are becoming more and more cinematic, but we see this only as an interactive way of telling stories about our service. ”
No Stanger Things game on Netflix
This is not the first time Netflix has played with interactive TV. Previously, they already had English titles such as Puss in Book: Trapped in an Epic Tale and Buddy Thunderstruck, which let younger viewers choose how the stories should go. The Minecraft episodes will use a similar system. There was also talk of a Stranger Things game coming to Netflix, because it is made by the same developer (Telltale Games) as the Minecraft episodes, but Netflix has already disproved that.
There is apparently a vacancy open to a “Manager of Interactive Licensing” whose job is to use gaming to spread the name and original content of Netflix wider than Netflix itself. This does not necessarily point to the broadening of the interactive catalog on Netflix, but rather to collaborations such as Stranger Things: The Game, in which Netflix content is brought to other platforms and entertainment formats, including games. We will see if Minecraft Story Mode is a success. If that is the case, there will automatically be more.