Netflix’s gaming foray will cost time and money: Wall Street analysts

Wall Street analysts welcomed Netflix’s planned plunge into mobile gaming on Wednesday, calling it a sensible move to keep users’ eyes on screens while worrying it would take significant time and investment to pay off.

Announcing the move with this week’s quarterly results, the video streaming pioneer offered little detail about the investment its plans would require, but product boss Greg Peters said it would be a “multi-year” effort that would start “relatively small”.

Analysts said that to be successful the move, which aims to tap new users and prop up interest among its existing audience, would need multi-million-dollar spending at a time when it is already pouring billions into original films and TV serials.