10 Sep The Real Platform Play? Owning What Happens Between Seasons [The Streaming Wars]
BY KIRBY GRINES
September 10, 2025 | There’s a recurring question echoing through strategy decks, boardrooms, and C-suite meetings: “How do we keep audiences engaged between seasons?”
And lately, we’ve been hearing that same question in our Ask Skip inbox. It’s not just a top-down concern, it’s showing up in conversations from execs across the stack. The usual answers — bonus episodes, behind-the-scenes content, and influencer tie-ins — aren’t cutting it anymore. Viewer behavior is shifting. Content fatigue is real. The better answer isn’t more content. It’s better platform strategy. It’s gaming.
Looper Insights’ new report, Beyond the Console, lays it out clearly: the question isn’t whether gaming can earn its place in streaming. It’s why more services aren’t already treating it like a core feature. What’s holding them back isn’t vision, it’s proof. And all eyes are on Netflix to deliver it.
Looper’s survey of industry execs makes one thing clear: everyone’s waiting on Netflix.
45.7% of execs say audience demand for a unified video + gaming experience is the #1 trigger for change. Not product capabilities. Not internal ambition. Just demand.
Once that demand becomes visible, 37% believe other streamers will follow Netflix’s lead quickly, but only if Netflix proves that gaming can boost retention, deepen engagement, and drive daily active usage.
Netflix, for its part, is telegraphing intent. Co-CEO Greg Peters has teased a wave of upcoming interactive experiences, alongside an expanding slate of IP-linked games. And President of Games Alain Tascan made the strategy clear: games aren’t extras, they’re glue. Designed to fill the space between show releases and keep audiences inside the Netflix flywheel.
That’s what’s on the line here. If Netflix gets this right, they don’t just expand their content offering, they change what a streaming service is.