Topline
Netflix is bringing a trio of mobile “Grand Theft Auto” games to users with the launch of “Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy — The Definitive Edition” on Dec. 14, a free game which will arrive as Netflix looks to boost its slow-growing video game business while hype grows for the next GTA installment—Grand Theft Auto VI.
The “Grand Theft Auto” franchise is one of gaming’s largest juggernauts. (Photo Illustration by … [+]
Key Facts
The “GTA Trilogy” contains three games—”Grand Theft Auto III,” “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City” and “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas”—all of which would collectively cost $11.99 for non-Netflix users on the App Store.
The game collection will be of no extra cost for Netflix subscribers on the App Store and Google Play Store, and be one of the more robust selections on Netflix’s video game library, which includes more than 80 games such as “Heads Up!,” “Cut The Rope” and “Bloons Tower Defense 6.”
The timing of the Dec. 14 Netflix release likely isn’t a coincidence, as Rockstar Games, the developer of the GTA franchise, recently said in a statement that a trailer for the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI will release early next month.
Though its mobile version may produce different results, the console version of “Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy — The Definitive Edition” exceeded commercial expectations for Take-Two Interactive, the publicly traded parent company of Rockstar Games.
Key Background
Netflix’s gaming business, which launched in late 2021 and offers mobile games to subscribed users free of charge, has grown slowly. The streaming giant’s video games averaged 1.7 million users last year, less than 1% of the 221 million subscribers Netflix had last year, according to CNBC, which cited data from Apptopia. However, Netflix has said the build up is by design. Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters told investors in an earnings call last month that the trajectory of the streaming platform’s gaming business isn’t “dissimilar” to what the company has seen before. He noted Netflix has had to crawl, walk and run while introducing new genres to users. Bringing a piece of the GTA franchise to its video game library could be a boon for Netflix, which aims to capitalize on the franchise’s wild popularity among gamers, the same ones who made “Grand Theft Auto V” the third-best-selling video game of all-time.
Big Number
“Grand Theft Auto V” has sold 190 million copies over the last decade. Only “Minecraft” and “Tetris” have sold more copies than the video game.
Further Reading
‘Grand Theft Auto’ Hype Sends Take-Two Stock To 2023 High (Forbes)
Netflix aims to ‘crawl, walk, run’ when it comes to video games. It’s still crawling (CNBC)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2023/11/29/netflix-will-launch-grand-theft-auto-trilogy-for-free-as-hype-for-new-gta-mounts/