Netflix has introduced a dedicated app for kids games as part of an updated strategy for its games division.
Netflix Playground features exclusive games for children aged eight and under, including titles from Peppa Pig, Sesame Street, Dr Seuss’s Horton, and Bad Dinosaurs.
Netflix Playground is included with a Netflix membership and is available as a separate app in app stores. It does not include in-app purchases, fees, or ads, and games can be played offline.
The app is currently available in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, the Philippines, and New Zealand, with a global launch scheduled for April 28, 2026.
Last March, Netflix announced a refined strategy for its games division, focusing on four pillars: mainstream games, narrative games, party games, and kids games.
In December, independent kids media consultant Emily Horgan, author of The KidsStreamerSphere and the Netflix Kids Content Performance Report, examined how children fit into Netflix’s games strategy.
Horgan also spoke with Netflix Games GM (Kids), Lisa Burgess, who said the platform is focusing firmly on engagement for kids rather than revenue.
“A lot of kids games are optimised around paywalls and getting paid subscribers, that first user experience. We’re thinking about engagement, which is transformative because developers can focus on making a fun game and a great game rather than the paywall part.”
As for IP, Burgess said Netflix wants to “focus on things that are highly recognisable, and that can fall into different categories.”
“What’s most specific is that when kids get into an IP, they will want to watch it and play it,” she explained. “That connection is tighter than it is for adults. With adults, just because you watch something doesn’t mean you want to play that style of game. With kids, it often does.”
“It can be big IP that is on our service. It can be toy or literary IP, ideally with a connection to the service. We want it to be easy to understand why we have the game. Especially in preschool, when kids get into an IP they want to watch it, play it, buy the toys, wear it. At that age it’s like their best friend.”
Currently, Netflix’s kids games primarily target preschoolers, but Burgess noted that the platform aims to develop more experiences for children aged six to eight.
“It’s a harder audience. By six, some kids are already on Roblox and Minecraft, and the ecosystem gets more competitive, though not impossible.”
