Netflix Allowing Users To Sign Up For Gaming Subscriptions Through Apple In-App Purchasing System

Netflix has recently made its foray into the world of gaming. So far, the organization has released five mobile games for iOS and Android devices. To find success, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman explains that the streaming giant has “cozied up” to Apple.

In a recent article, Gurman explained that, in a surprising move, Netflix is allowing users to sign up for subscriptions inside its games application through Apple’s in-app purchasing system. As a result, Apple will receive up to a 30% cut of all money generated by this new gaming venture from Netflix.

“Even more surprising is that those subscriptions also work in the main Netflix video streaming app,” Gurman wrote in a November 14th article. “That’s notable because Netflix stopped letting consumers subscribe via Apple’s service in 2018. Now it’s providing a new way to sign up that lets Apple take a cut again. Just when it seemed like tensions would flare up between Netflix and Apple, they seem to be cooling.”

At this time, Netflix has not yet reinstated in-app purchases inside of its main application. While Gurman said he doesn’t anticipate this to happen any time soon, he admits that “the games concession is a major change,” and that he is “curious to see what this is a precursor to.”

The Profit‘s Take:

It’s interesting that Netflix is taking a stance that is the complete opposite of Epic Games. They’re perfectly happy sharing some of their revenues with Apple. I’m curious as to why they didn’t join Tim Sweeney’s rebellion. In 2018, Netflix shut Apple down. This meant that you couldn’t sign up for a subscription inside the organization’s main app because Netflix didn’t want to give a 30% cut to Apple. Then, they introduced games, which is a separate app from the original one you download. So now, you can sign up for a Netflix subscription through that app. In some ways, this is a loophole. Netflix is okay with giving a cut to Apple in the gaming app but not their main app. Their tone has clearly softened.

(All information was provided by Benzinga and Bloomberg)