Streaming giant bets on interactivity, gaming and immersive designs to turn viewers into participants in stories
Netflix is no longer just about watching — it wants you to join in. In a bold shift that blurs the line between viewing and participation, the streaming giant is reimagining entertainment through real-time interactivity, gaming integration, and immersive experiences.
From children’s profiles to talent competitions, Netflix is steadily transforming the passive act of watching into something far more engaging and dynamic.
The company has unveiled sweeping updates that touch nearly every corner of its platform — redesigned interfaces for children, real-time voting in live programmes, and an expanding library of cloud-based and party games.
The move, executives say, is part of Netflix’s larger mission to evolve storytelling into a two-way experience that deepens audience connection and loyalty in an increasingly crowded streaming marketplace.
Netflix’s Co-Chief Executive Greg Peters described the transition as “a broader strategy centred on interactive entertainment.” Speaking at the company’s third-quarter earnings call, he said the aim is to merge storytelling with user participation.
“We’ve mostly talked so far about our work in this space as games because that’s an easy shorthand,” Peters explained. “But we see this initiative as more about interactivity broadly — how does it complement storytelling and unlock new experiences?”
Central to this strategy is Netflix’s new real-time voting feature, which allows viewers to influence outcomes in live programming. The feature was first tested in August with the cooking show ‘Dinner Time Live with David Chang’, where audiences could vote on light-hearted food debates such as whether soups are better than salads. Encouraged by consistent viewer engagement, Netflix will now extend this interactive model to its reboot of ‘Star Search’, the iconic talent show returning after two decades.
Netflix Chief Technology Officer Elizabeth Stone announced at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 that the live voting functionality will roll out globally next year. “If you’re sitting at home watching ‘Star Search’, you’ll be able to vote in real time on your TV or phone — deciding who advances,” she said. “It’s just an early example of how content can become more interactive across devices, making members feel part of the story.”
This new approach, Stone added, is about creating shared moments — a modern version of communal TV watching where audiences not only react but directly participate. Netflix hopes that the feature will foster a sense of connection in an era where fragmented viewing habits have eroded the traditional collective experience of television.
Meanwhile, Netflix’s gaming arm, launched quietly in 2021, has now evolved into something much broader. The company is testing “party-style” games playable on smart TVs using smartphones as controllers — making interactivity accessible to families without the need for gaming consoles. The initiative will debut with titles like ‘Boggle’ later this year.
“There’s also a lot that’s exciting happening with cloud games,” Stone said, describing how these experiences could become a staple of living-room entertainment. “It’s another way to think about immersive, in-the-moment content.”
The company has already built a growing catalogue of mobile and TV-compatible titles, including adaptations of its own hits and major licensed games such as ‘Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy — The Definitive Edition’. Peters said the goal is to extend the audience’s relationship with Netflix stories through complementary formats — turning viewers into participants and fans into players.
Industry analysts told Reuters that while Netflix’s gaming business is still small, its potential impact could be significant, particularly in mobile-first regions like South and Southeast Asia, where smartphones dominate streaming habits. The focus on accessibility “no console required” — could make Netflix’s games instantly playable to millions.
At the same time, Netflix is investing heavily in improving its platform for younger audiences. The company has redesigned its kids’ profile with a simplified layout and new navigation tools, including a “My Netflix” tab that gathers all previously watched and loved content in one place. This allows children to easily revisit their favourite shows and films while giving parents better oversight.
The revamped design retains existing parental controls and character-themed rows, but adds real-time content recommendations that update dynamically — an attempt to make children’s viewing as seamless as adult profiles. Netflix has also hinted that the new interface will later support interactive children’s programming, aligning with the platform’s broader push toward engagement-based content.
Netflix’s innovation spree doesn’t end with games and voting. The platform is also rolling out what it calls “immersive experiences” — animated and dynamic homepage collections that bring its worlds to life.
The first, a Halloween-themed collection, is already live, with a festive Holiday Collection to follow in December. Future versions will centre around flagship franchises such as Bridgerton, turning browsing into a visually rich, interactive event.
Peters and Stone both framed these developments as the foundation of Netflix’s next evolution: an entertainment ecosystem where linear storytelling and user interactivity coexist seamlessly. “It not only extends engagement,” Peters said, “but it creates a synergy that reinforces both mediums — interactive and non-interactive.”
The move comes as Netflix faces fierce competition from Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and YouTube, all vying for global attention spans. By reinventing the way audiences interact with content, Netflix appears determined to retain its dominance — not by offering more to watch, but by making watching itself a participatory experience.
As one analyst put it, Netflix’s new vision represents a quiet revolution in how entertainment will work. The future may no longer depend on what we choose to watch — but on how we choose to take part.
