GTA titles praised for Netflix Gaming’s huge growth in 2023
As Netflix continues its push into gaming, new figures claim that the inclusion of Grand Theft Auto games have helped the service secure massive growth.
11th Jan 2024 12:44
Images via Netflix | Rockstar Games
GTA titles praised for Netflix Gaming’s huge growth in 2023
As Netflix continues its push into gaming, new figures claim that the inclusion of Grand Theft Auto games have helped the service secure massive growth.
11th Jan 2024 12:44
Images via Netflix | Rockstar Games
While we've got to accept that there's going to be an achingly long wait until GTA 6 releases in 2025, there's thankfully plenty to keep us busy until Jason and Lucia shoot their way to the top of the gaming charts. With 27 years of Grand Theft Auto games to pick from, we aren't short of a title or two to revisit.
Some GTA fans are busying themselves by revisiting The Simpsons: Hit & Run and we imagine some of your (poor you) are checking out the maligned GTA Trilogy on console. However, there's a more obscure place to get your GTA fix, with Netflix diving back into the franchise's past for some beloved nostalgia.
GTA praised for helping boost Netflix Gaming
We'll admit we were more than a little sceptical when Netflix said it would be branching out into gaming. Early releases included Stranger Things 3: The Game and Narcos: Cartel Wars Unlimited, with these mobile games not really offering much that we'd be dashing to play.
Netflix has continued its push into gaming and acquired Oxenfree's Night School Studio, but still, failed to cause much of a buzz. That all changed with confirmation that the streaming giant had licensed GTA games from Take-Two Interactive.
We know the GTA Trilogy was a bit of a dud, but taking it on the go as part of your Netflix subscription clearly brought a whole new fan base. According to data from Sensor Tower (via TechCrunch), Netflix Games downloads have ballooned by 180% year-over-year.
Across the App Store and Google Play, Netflix games have been downloaded 81.2 million times, with the fourth quarter boasting 53% of those downloads. So what's to thank for the boost? Appfigures points to the arrival of GTA games, with GTA: San Andreas becoming Netflix's most-downloaded game of all time.
There's similar success for Vice City being Netflix's sixth-most downloaded game of 2023 and GTA III being the eleventh. The three games racked up a jaw-dropping 6.4 million downloads in less than a week, while the trio makes up around 17% of Netflix's total gaming downloads in 2023.
Netflix Gaming could be about to add ads
If something sounds too good to be true, chances are that it probably is. Netlfix's games were previously exempt from the service's divisive ad restrictions, but all of that's about to change. Netflix Gaming is poised to include ads, which is likely due to downloads tripling in December after doubling in November.
Netflix Gaming is unsurprisingly a hit with mobile gamers, which ties to the release of the GTA Trilogy on mobile. It seems you can't get enough of taking Rockstar's acclaimed catalogue on the move for the morning commute. Will GTA games still be a hit when you get a Stranger Things Season 5 ad in the middle? Watch this space.
About The Author
Tom Chapman
Tom is Trending News Editor at GGRecon, with an NCTJ qualification in Broadcast Journalism and over seven years of experience writing about film, gaming, and television. With bylines at IGN, Digital Spy, Den of Geek, and more, Tom’s love of horror means he's well-versed in all things Resident Evil, with aspirations to be the next Chris Redfield.
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