Netflix Finally Gives Up on Interactive Shows, Pivots to ‘GenAI for Games’

Netflix is again abandoning one of its attempts at more interactive entertainment. The streaming company is delisting all but a handful of its interactive shows and titles based on popular franchises like Boss Baby. The company started pushing shows and movies in a choose-your-own-adventure format back in 2017 but it looks like the experiment just hasn’t worked out.

Many of the interactive shows were just barely “interactive,” but some of them like the Headspace Guide to Meditation were nonetheless interesting. That one guided users through the benefits of meditation and offered techniques and even guided meditations personalized to a user’s particular needs. There was also a Carmen Sandiego interactive experience aimed at children which let them guide the outcome.

The Verge confirmed the news with Netflix. The four interactive shows that will remain on the platform are Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend, Ranveer vs. Wild with Bear Grylls, and You vs. Wild.

The content likely wasn’t very popular—since launching the concept, only 24 interactive titles were ever made. And because a lot of the content was based on licensed brands like Boss Baby, it’s likely Netflix decided to remove them to cut down on licensing costs they had to pay to IP holders. Other streamers often do the same thing. Max, Disney+, and others have pissed off a lot of people by removing their favorite shows. Puck did an analysis some time ago finding that Disney+ saved millions over several years by removing one less popular show. Streamers often have to pay a set residual each year to keep titles.

Whatever the reason for the sunsetting, it’s commendable that Netflix was trying something new in 2D entertainment. The company has been trying to get into gaming for a couple of years—co-founder Reed Hastings once said gaming and social media were Netflix’s biggest competition for attention. The company currently offers a select amount of mobile games to subscribers on iOS and Android. It was reportedly developing a more intensive AAA multiplatform game from an original IP but recently shuttered the studio behind the project.

We already know what Netflix is planning to do next in interactive. The company’s head of gaming, Mike Vertu, announced yesterday that he’s now taken on the title of “VP of GenAI for Games.”

“I don’t think I’ve been this excited about an opportunity in this industry since the ’90s when we saw a new game launch every few months that redefined what was possible,” Vertu wrote on LinkedIn. “We’re back to those days of seemingly unlimited potential and the rapid pace of innovation, which resulted in mind-blowing surprises for players every few months.”

It’s hard to see how any common person could “generate” a game that would be more entertaining than what a team of artists and writers could create. You still need to, you know, have good ideas and taste to make something compelling. There could be something in the middle, though. Roblox is currently working on AI models that will allow players to generate 3D objects like trees, and entire scenes, using AI prompting. Don’t expect anything too ambitious from Netflix.