Multi-game subscription services, April 2023: Netflix to launch 40 games this year

Ampere tracks 13 multi-game subscription services to capture catalogue changes as well as company and wider industry trends. In April 2023, key developments in the space included the following:

Netflix plans to release 40 games by the end of 2023

Netflix announced that is has 40 games in its content pipeline for this year, with 70 in total being developed by its partners and an additional 16 in-house. Netflix’s gaming strategy takes a two-pronged approach: It aims to strengthen its catalogue by developing content within its own internal studios and with third parties, while continuing to grow its library with pre-existing titles and ports (for example, Spiritfarer, Thunder Lotus Games). One of Netflix’s key development partners is Ubisoft, with the service seeing two titles by the publisher added to its catalogue so far in 2023: Valiant Hearts: Coming Home in January, and Mighty Quest: Rogue Palace in April. The partnership will see a total of three exclusive titles added to the subscription service, all based on existing Ubisoft IP. Partnering with established publishers and incorporating notable IP may in turn improve usage and uptake among core gamers.

Ubisoft+ launches on console for the first time

In April 2023 Ubisoft launched its multi-game subscription service on Xbox consoles for the first time. Ubisoft+ has two tiers: a basic PC-only tier ($14.99) and Multi Access ($17.99) which bundles the benefits of PC with cloud streaming via Amazon Luna, and now the ability to play on Xbox consoles. In a May 2022 announcement, the company revealed its plans to launch its multi-game subscription service on PlayStation consoles in the future. The full service is yet to launch, but Ubisoft added its Classics collection to PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium alongside the announcement. Ubisoft is likely reluctant to bundle its full multi-game subscription service with another, like EA Play and Xbox Game Pass PC/Ultimate, as it has invested heavily in Ubisoft Connect and its cross-progression feature.

Launching on consoles offers obvious benefits, such as an expanded pool of potential subscribers, improved discoverability, and a stronger perceived value for money with Multi Access. At the same time, Ubisoft will directly compete with Xbox Game Pass console on its own platform. Ubisoft believes that its high-quality first-party content will drive uptake, but Ampere Games consumer research suggests that factors such as value for money are often more important to consumers.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate arguably offers a higher-value-for-money product, with over four times as many titles in its catalogue (519 versus 111 in April 2023), and a more diversified selection with first and third-party content, including AAA and indie games. While Ubisoft may struggle to gain a significant foothold on Xbox, having the service available on the console keeps its Multi Access subscribers engaged within its ecosystem.

Blacknut and Radian Arc partner on a turnkey solution for media companies

Cloud gaming service Blacknut and content delivery network (CDN) Radian Arc have collaborated on several joint projects in the past, including those with notable partners such as telecommunications provider CTM and Saudi Telecom Company. Its most recent collaboration may be one of its most significant to date, as the two have developed a turnkey cloud gaming solution for media companies. The solution allows the simple integration of cloud gaming with over-the-top and video-on-demand services. The product combines Blacknut’s 672-strong catalogue – the second largest tracked by Ampere in April 2023 - and Radian Arc’s GPU Edge infrastructure to deliver games via the cloud. It is available via an app or software development kit, and the package will include analytical tools to cross-integrate games with existing media catalogues.

As interest in cross-media experiences continues to grow, cloud technology removes many of the traditional hardware barriers associated with gaming. Blacknut is well equipped to facilitate original IP-licensed content too, via partnerships with specialised studios such as Gameloft and Outright Games, who have a combined 19 titles in the catalogue as of April 2023. Integrating gaming content in media services, particularly original content, increases competitiveness in the streaming landscape as large players like Netflix continue to ramp up efforts in the games space.

Of the 19 titles added to Blacknut, 14 were published by Team17, including two titles from the Yooka-laylee franchise, Overcooked 2, and The Escapists 2. The two parties signed a licensing partnership to bring 16 games to Blacknut’s first-party library and its telco partners in the coming months. Team17 offers content spanning a broad range of genres, covering six in the selection added in April 2023, but their family focused content complements Blacknut’s target audience and has broad appeal. One of the publisher’s most notable family games, Overcooked 2, is over four years old as of 2023, so as the title matures and sales decline, subscription services offer an additional revenue source.

Catalogue activity: PlayStation Plus the most active service this month

In April 2023, 108 games were added to the services tracked and 95 were removed, with the main games subscription catalogue changes in April 2023 as follows:

• PlayStation Plus Premium/Deluxe added 22 titles and removing 15 in April. Eight titles published by Microsoft were added to the service, including two from the Doom franchise and two from the Wolfenstein franchise. All the titles were first introduced to PlayStation Plus in April 2023, but three, including both Wolfenstein titles, were first included in the now closed PlayStation Now service back in February 2021. When the titles were removed, they were added to Xbox Game Pass a month later in March 2021, likely due to Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax Media, Wolfenstein’s publisher. With the titles being readded in April 2023, it suggests that Xbox Game Pass has exhausted the value of keeping the titles exclusive to its platform, and is now seeking to generate incremental revenue on third party service.
• Xbox Game Pass Ultimate added five titles to the service on launch day in April 2023: Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly (Chorus Worldwide), Homestead Arcana (Skybound Games), Cassette Beasts (Raw Fury), The Last Case of Benedict Fox (Plot Twist Games) and Minecraft Legends (Microsoft). ‘Day one’ releases are a key factor in increasing subscriber volume, but Microsoft continues to use additional tactics to drive growth, its most recent being its friend referral program, a new initiative that lets Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members gift five friends a 14-day PC Game Pass trial per year, for free. It is available in all Xbox markets - excluding Argentina, Russia, and Turkey – and those referred must be new to Game Pass. The trial offers all the benefits of a paying membership, with Microsoft hoping that a short taste of the service may urge friends to stay subscribed long-term. This may prove to be effective as over half of all Xbox Game Pass members sampled state that they subscribe to the service because their friends do (Ampere Games – Consumer, Q4 2022).