Netflix may introduce in-app purchases, ads to games

Streaming giant Netflix is reportedly planning to generate revenue from its gaming business by adding in-app purchases and advertisements.

The company has had discussions in recent months about how to generate revenue from its games, reports The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the discussions.

For two years, Netflix subscribers have been able to download tons of mobile games, all free with their subscription.

The company offers more than 75 mobile games, like Grand Theft Auto, Love Is Blind, Monument Valley and Oxenfree.

According to the report, Netflix is planning to put a price tag on premium gaming titles and placing ads on games.

Netflix was yet to comment on the report.

The company last year said it was not worried about ads and in-game payments.

“We want to have a differentiated gaming experience and part of that is giving game creators the ability to think about building games purely from the perspective of player enjoyment and not having to worry about other forms of monetization, whether it be ads or in-game payment,” Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters had said during the earnings call.

In August, Netflix rolled out its games across devices — TVs, computers, and mobile — and announced the first public tests of its cloud-streamed games.