Netflix Is Raising Prices Again, As It Discusses Vision For Video Games

The world is full of uncertainty, but one thing that people can reliably count on is Netflix raising prices–and that’s happening again soon. Netflix has announced its latest price increase, with all three major tiers seeing an increase of at least $1 for the monthly rate.

Here are the new rates, which are effective immediately for new subscribers and will adjust upon the next billing cycle for existing members:

• Standard with ads — $8/month (up from $7/month)
• Standard — $18/month (up from $15.50/month)
• Premium — $25/month (up from $23/month)

For the Standard tier, customers can add an additional member to the plan for $7/month with ads or $9/month without ads. The Premium tier allows members to add up to two more members for $7/month with ads or $9/month without ads.

Netflix announced this price hike as part of its latest earnings briefing where the company disclosed its biggest-ever subscriber increase, adding 19 million new members in the past three months. Netflix now has more than 300 million subscribers globally.

“As we continue to invest in programming and deliver more value for our members, we will occasionally ask our members to pay a little more so that we can re-invest to further improve Netflix,” Netflix management said in a memo.

The price increases implemented this week cover the US, Canada, Portugal, and Argentina.

An update on Netflix Games

Netflix is home to a vast library of films and TV shows, as well as video games. Asked to assess how Netflix feels about its video game output thus far, executive Gregory Peters said the company has made “some good early progress,” citing successful titles like Oxenfree II and Grand Theft Auto, which he said “drove tens of millions of downloads.” Peters also called out Squid Game: Unleashed, a tie-in game for the new season of the show–it speaks to what Netflix is trying to achieve, he said.

“Which is enabling this virtuous cycle between linear content and simultaneous game offerings. And we are just scratching the surface today in terms of what we can ultimately do in that space,” he said. “But we already see how this approach not only extends the audience’s engagement with the universe and a story but also creates a synergy that reinforces both mediums–the interactive and the non-interactive side.”

Overall, Peters said Netflix is continuing to “refine our strategy” as it relates to video games. Going forward, Peters said Netflix will focus on “more narrative games” based on Netflix franchises, while at the same time launching “party and couch co-op games” for your TV delivered from the cloud. Netflix’s main offerings for games currently are on mobile, but the company has–for years now–worked on cloud streaming to beam games directly to your TV or computer.

“We think of this as a successor to family board game night or an evolution of what the game show on TV used to be. So we’re excited about delivering some cool experiences in that space. We’ll deliver games for kids. This is no ads, no in-app payments. It’s a safe space for kids just included with your subscription. And of course, we want to do more recognizable mainstream titles, whether that is licensed titles like GTA,” or any number of different possibilities, Peters said.

Reports have suggested only a tiny percentage of Netflix’s subscribers download Netflix games on mobile, and Peters admitted the effects of Netflix’s games business thus far has been “relatively small.” But the executive pointed out that Netflix’s investment in games is also small, relative to Netflix’s overall content budget.

“We’re going to stay disciplined about scaling that investment as we see continued scaling and member benefits. So to try and summarize, there’s plenty more to do in this space, but we’re breaking into a whole new content category, which, by the way, drives approximately $140 billion in consumer spend,” he said. “So we’re iteratively showing our members that we are a place to discover and play games, and we look forward to continuing to launch bigger and bigger games every year.”

In 2024, Netflix closed one of its AAA studios, headed up by industry veterans including former Halo boss Joseph Staten. Netflix still has an internal game development studio, Netflix Games Studio, as well as wholly owned external teams such as Night School Studio, Boss Fight Entertainment, and Next Games.

In related news, it was announced this week that Netflix video game boss Leanne Loombe has left the company to head up Annapurna’s gaming division. Loombe joins Annapurna after a period of significant upheaval and change at Annapurna for video games.