Why Netflix is using a Roblox world to promote “Cobra Kai” and other releases

Last month, for example, “Nextworld” introduced in-game items from the teen coming-of-age series “Heartstopper.” And today, Nov. 25, the virtual space opened its latest two experiences — promotional activations for the animated film “Spellbound” and the final season of the television series “Cobra Kai.”

For both “Spellbound” and “Cobra Kai,” “Nextworld’s” promotional experiences recreate scenes from the film and show — a musical scene for “Spellbound” and a martial arts fight for “Cobra Kai” — allowing players to take the place of a main character and play out the scenes. Netflix is supporting the rollout of the promotion with a full campaign of programmatic Roblox ads as well, including Portals that teleport interested players directly into “Nextworld.”

“Immersive media and transmedia on the platform has been banners and video ads; they’ve been streaming video billboards, or interpretive experiences — just taking an IP and making a game about the IP,” said Nate Spell, CEO of Barrier Four, the Roblox animation studio that developed the experience. “It hasn’t been taking a scene from a show and making it playable.”

Over the past year, it’s become clear that Netflix’s gaming push is largely focused on building a mobile gaming audience via Netflix’s mobile app. Although many Roblox players play via mobile devices, Netflix’s decision to develop a presence on the metaverse platform stands apart from its investments in more traditional game development. First and foremost, “Nextworld” is a marketing play intended to get gamers interested in watching Netflix’s streamed content — not an attempt to build up Netflix’s gaming audience.

“If I’m watching Netflix on my phone or TV, I can’t just click through and seamlessly go into ‘Nextworld,’ right? I have to intentionally decide to involve myself in this world, and that seems like an interesting choice,” said Kerry Waananen, a journalist and marketer who covers the role of gaming in the rise of transmedia. “It is not seamless, whereas Netflix Games, as a division, is supposed to be a tab in your smartphone app.”

The marketing power of an experience like “Nextworld” is that it allows Roblox to maintain fans’ levels of interest in films and television shows between releases. The final season of “Cobra Kai,” for example, is in the middle of being released in three parts, with the release of the first and third parts separated by nearly seven months. Releasing playable scenes and other promotions inside “Nextworld” is a way to trickle out new content to interested fans during the waiting periods between episode releases.

“Think about all the shows you watch on Netflix, where they’re launching them four episodes at a time, and now you have to wait a month for the next four episodes to come out,” said Sami Barnett, head of gaming at agency The Marketing Arm. “It’s honestly so frustrating as an avid Netflix fan — but now, you can go into this world and interact with a community that’s feeling the same feelings that you are.”