Video-game developers prepare for rich courtship

Future. Indie game developers are attracting huge paydays to give video-game streamers exclusive access to titles as they all battle each other to build the “Netflix of games.” Like in film and TV, a boom for content could send game development into overdrive and create more titles than any person could ever imagine playing in a lifetime.

Multiplayer monogamy
Just as independent producers have been gobbled up by entertainment giants to compete in the film and TV streaming wars, video game developers are preparing for the big offers from Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass, Sony’s PlayStation Plus, Apple’s Arcade, Amazon’s Luna, and, yes, Netflix.

• Those deep-pocketed companies are spending generously upfront to get exclusive access to titles or acquire top game-makers.
• Independent developers love it because:
  • They get to focus on creativity instead of sales.
  • They know that their titles will be available to millions of people.
  • It allows for smaller, more experimental games to get made since not every title needs to appeal to everyone.

Tom Davis of the Swedish indie publisher Thunderful notes that the new system will also spur on physical game sales because “people are just generally talking about the game,” meaning that if gamers find a title they love, they may go out searching for other games from the same developer that aren’t on the streaming service.

In that case, streaming games may be the ultimate gateway tool.