Video streaming service Netflix targeted expansion into mobile gaming in a bid to boost user engagement by tapping into the increasingly competitive market.

Alongside its Q2 earnings announcement, Netflix stated gaming would serve as an additional content category rather than a move away from its main offering of TV and movie titles.

It noted its plans to enter the sector were at an early stage and initially will be focused on games for mobile devices, which will be made available to users at no additional cost.

Netflix explained it thought it was the right time to “learn more about how our members value games” after almost a decade of offering original programming.

Q2 performance
The company revealed its total paying user base surpassed 209 million in Q2, “slightly ahead” of its forecast and up on 193 million in the comparable quarter of 2020.

It admitted the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic created “some lumpiness” in its growth, which it “is working its way through”.

Revenue was up 19 per cent year-on-year to $7.3 billion, while net income grew from $720 million in Q2 2020 to $1.3 billion in the recent period.

It predicted its paying user base to grow by 3.5 million in the quarter, lower than the 6 million analysts polled by Financial Times predicted.

Net additions in Q3 2020 stood at 2.2 million.