Books and videogames have done this for years, but achieving good results with video has proved difficult. Beyond making the technology work, open-ended storytelling doesn't make much sense from a business standpoint if you're a conventional studio or TV network.

“Truthfully, this was not something that could really be implemented on a broad scale until digital video came along,” says Glenn Hower, a senior digital media analyst with research firm Parks Associates. “Not only does Netflix have this communication capability being a digital on-demand service, but it has a huge subscriber base to leverage.”
 

From the article "Choose-Your-Own-Adventures Just Landed on Netflix. Yes, Netflix" by Davey Alba.