Netflix continues to expand its steadily growing line of mobile games with the launch of Relic Hunters: Rebels Today. Developed by Brazilian developer Rogue Snail, the game is the latest in the relic hunters series of colorful shooters and the first for mobile. The sci-fi RPG puts a lot of emphasis on firefights with a total of 44 different weapons to experiment with, and the studio says it was designed in part to work well on older phones. As with all other Netflix mobile games, rebels is available for free to subscribers through Netflix’s mobile apps.
Netflix’s foray into gaming got off to a decent start late last year, and the company has since added a number of new titles, including the first FPS and a League of Legends spin-off – while also acquiring developers such as Boss Fight Entertainment, Next Games, and Night School Studio. The streaming service also launched a daily interactive trivia series and announced plans for both a TV series and a mobile game based on the card game. Exploding Kittens†
In a blog post, Rogue Snail CEO Mark Venturelli said that “the idea that we could make games without worrying about monetization was also very compelling because it allows us to focus on making a fun game without having to worry about how we manage our bills.”
With gaming efforts ramping up, Netflix faces challenges in its core streaming business. Last month, the company announced it expected to lose 2 million subscribers and explored the idea of a cheaper, ad-supported tier for the service. Last week, Netflix fired the staff of its Tudum fan site, which only launched in December.