Netflix Sets ‘Stranger Things’ Game, Interactive ‘Minecraft’ Show in Deal With Telltale Games
By Todd Spangler
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Updated: Netflix is gearing up to launch a game based on its popular “Stranger Things” original series under a deal with Telltale Games, and it will roll out another basic interactive game — “Minecraft: Story Mode,” more akin to a playable TV show — from the studio.
cut a deal with to license a five-episode run of the interactive show, both companies confirmed, as first reported by TechRadar . The “: Story Mode” series, based on the hit sandbox video game from Microsoft’s Mojang, is set to debut on Netflix in the fall.
The “Minecraft” title is similar to Netflix’s choose-your-own-adventure-style interactive shows for kids: “Puss in Book: Trapped in an Epic Tale” and “Buddy Thunderstruck: The Maybe Pile.” Earlier this year Netflix debuted another interactive title, “Stretch Armstrong: The Breakout.”
Netflix said the deal doesn’t represent any kind of entree by the company into the video-game market.
“There’s a broad spectrum of entertainment available today,” a Netflix rep said. “Games have become increasingly cinematic, but we view this as interactive narrative storytelling on our service.”
Also under the deal, Telltale is producing a game based on “” for consoles and PCs. Neither Telltale nor Netflix provided details on the game. The Netflix rep noted that the game is not going to be available on the streaming platform, and is instead “part of our marketing and title promotion efforts.” Last October, to promote the upcoming season 2 premiere, Netflix launched a retro free-to-play “Stranger Things” mobile game from indie game studio BonusXP.
“We’re delighted by the response we’re seeing to the idea of ‘Minecraft: Story Mode’ coming to Netflix in the fall as an interactive adventure, and separately, we’re thrilled to confirm that Telltale is developing a game based on ‘Stranger Things’ that we’ll publish to consoles and computers at a later date,” a rep for Telltale said in an email.
Telltale describes “Minecraft: Story Mode” as “a playable television show based on your favorite game, where YOU are the star, and your choices and actions decide how the story is told.”
The TechRadar report about Netflix’s pact with Telltale — which characterized it as representing the streamer’s move into delivering video games, which is not really on the nose — may have added more fuel to the meteoric rise of Netflix’s stock, which was trading at all-time highs Wednesday after a very bullish upgrade by Goldman Sachs.
