How Streaming Companies Can Protect New Gaming Content

Over the last few months, streaming companies have increasingly entered the video gaming market to gain new customers, engage and retain current subscribers and compete with a growing number of other streaming platforms. In July, Netflix announced plans to add gaming to its platform, and it acquired its first gaming studio in September.

In a statement, the company will initially focus on mobile games before eventually expanding to consoles and TV sets as well. The games initially will be tied to Netflix's most popular programming, but standalone titles may be added to the, mix too. The streaming giant has since released its first test games, including Stranger Things: 1984, which is based on the popular streaming franchise.

Other streaming services have been experimenting with video game subscriptions as well. Last year, Amazon invested in Luna, a cloud gaming service and operates its own gaming studio as well. Stadia, a game-streaming service, was launched by Google in 2019. And Apple, which launched Apple TV Plus last year, also sought to expand its audience with the mobile gaming subscription service Apple Arcade in 2019.

This is an exciting new development for the gaming and streaming industries, especially at a time when the gaming market is projected to reach nearly $200 billion. However, it also introduces new challenges and potential security threats to streaming providers, which they will need to address to ensure success as they expand into gaming.

New gaming services mean new security challenges

Netflix executives have said the service would initially focus on mobile games. But because so many devices support Netflix, expanding to Xbox, PlayStations and computers is the logical next step.

While new game streaming companies may not yet face the same type of risks that premium game developers and distributors must contend with, they will need to ensure they have protections in place to guard against security threats for streaming content - i.e., account sharing or hacking - particularly for games that are exclusive to these platforms. They will also need to consider the threat of piracy for any downloadable content.

As the industry matures, however, streaming platforms will also need to be aware of additional threats that the gaming industry often handles— particularly cheating. According to our latest review of the top 15 highest-grossing multiplayer games in the Google Play Store, 50% of games currently have cheats available, and another 18% were found to have a cheat available for older versions. Game cheats can have costly consequences for the gaming industry, impacting revenue, game performance, and customer loyalty. In fact, a survey we conducted found that 77% of gamers would stop playing a game if they suspected cheating, and another 46% would be less likely to buy in-game content as a result of cheating.

Once the streaming companies make a move towards online gaming, cheating will happen. It is a fact. With deep experience in game and streaming security, Irdeto can help streaming platforms secure the future of gaming as they enter a new business vertical. Denuvo by Irdeto’s Anti-Tamper and Anti-Cheat, along with Irdeto Control and Irdeto’s 360 Security suite, are here to help operators and distributors combat piracy, account sharing, and game cheating, secure platforms and ensure no impact on revenue or the gaming experience.

Contact us today to learn more about how our video entertainment and gaming services can help streaming platforms deliver a secure experience to gamers.