Netflix says it’s not planning a game studio acquisition spree
But it’s open to more buyouts if the right opportunities come along
In the wake of the acquisition of its first video game studio, Netflix has told investors it’s not planning to go on a spending spree.
The streaming giant announced in July that it was expanding into the video games market and that it had appointed former Electronic Arts and Facebook executive Mike Verdu to lead the push.
And in late September, Netflix acquired Night School Studio, the developer behind the critically-acclaimed Oxenfree.
During an earnings call this week, Netflix co-CEO Wilmot Reed Hastings asked fellow executives how they would set expectations “in terms of future Night Schools”.
“Again, it’s something that will be opportunistic,” chief operating officer Gregory Peters responded. “So, I would say don’t expect us to go on a tearing, buying spree or something like that. This will be one of the tools that we use, and we’ll use it opportunistically when we find a great opportunity out there.”
Spencer Wang, the company’s VP of finance, added: “You can tell from our track record, we are fairly selective when it comes to M&A. But as Greg said, when an opportunity presents itself, where we feel like we’re aligned with the company, I think that’s an opportunity we’ll take. But again, it’s not – nothing more than that.”
Peters also commented on the decision to buy Night School, which is currently working on Oxenfree II: Lost Signals for release on Switch, PS4, PS5 and PC in 2022.
“We’re tremendously excited about that team in specific because they really – the core of what they’ve done is to try and explore story and narrative essentially as the central game mechanic. And we think that fits really, really well with what we’re trying to do,” he said. “And so it’s been great to get them on board and involved and to hear their thoughts and ideas. And I expect it will be a sort of a rich partnership over years to come.”
