Netflix Creates Finland-Based Internal Studio to Develop Games
Netflix is investing more in gaming by establishing an internal games studio based in Helsinki, Finland, and led by Marko Lastikka, a former general manager at both Zynga and EA.
"This is another step in our vision to build a world-class games studio that will bring a variety of delightful and deeply engaging original games — with no ads and no in-app purchases — to our hundreds of millions of members around the world," Netflix said in an announcement(Opens in a new window).
The company settled on Helsinki because it’s a major city for game talent. Rovio, the developer of Angry Birds, and Clash of Clans maker Supercell are both based in the area. In addition, Next Games, which Netflix acquired in March, is also located in Helsinki.
The company also has two other game studios: Boss Fight Entertainment, which it also acquired in March and Night School Studio, which it bought last September.
“These four studios, each with different strengths and focus areas, will develop games that will suit the diverse tastes of our members,” the streaming provider added. It remains unclear what Netflix’s in-house game studio will focus on, but the streaming provider plans on sharing more details in the coming years.
As of July, Netflix had published 24 games, which are free for subscribers. But for now, the titles are meant only for smartphones and tablets. The company created them with the help of third-party developers and the three game studios it recently acquired.
“We’ve had millions of our members play games through the service, and we are learning about what games work for different audiences” Netflix said in its Q2 shareholder’s letter(Opens in a new window), which adds: “We are building a solid pipeline of new games that will
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