Netflix is making a serious move concerning its game’s division. The popular streaming service is in the process of putting together an in-house game studio. The studio, which will be based in Helsinki, Finland, will allow the company to develop high-quality mobile games.
“Why Helsinki? It is home to some of the best game talent in the world,” Netflix correctly stated recently.
The streaming service has already purchased several game studios, including Oxenfree developer Night School Studio and Next Games, the developer behind the mobile titles The Walking Dead No Man’s Land and The Walking Dead Our World. However, until now, Netflix has never attempted to build its own game studio from the ground up.
According to Netflix, it will likely be years before any games the studio develops reach the public. Marko Lastikka, a former employee of EA and Zynga, will act as the studio director. With an in-house game studio, Netflix plans to develop top-level mobile titles sans ads and in-app purchases.
“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,” says Netflix.
Netflix game library
Netflix launched its mobile game service, which is free to subscribers, back in November 2021 and as of June, game downloads surpassed 13 million. Despite this, only 1 percent of Netflix subscribers have tried the streaming services games as of August.
The company has hired third-party studios to develop games based on its popular series. A chess title based on the streaming service’s hit series The Queen’s Gambit is in development at Ripstone Games. Likewise, Chimera Entertainment is developing Shadow and Bone: Destinies, based on the fantasy show Shadow and Bone, for the Netflix gaming library. Additionally, Netflix has acquired rights to Into the Dead 2: Unleashed and more recently, SpongeBob: Get Cooking. One of the most recent games to launch on the Netflix game library is Desta: The Memories Between, a turn-based strategy title by the makers of Monument Valley.
Jack Brassell is a freelance journalist and aspiring novelist. Jack is a self-proclaimed nerd with a lifelong passion for storytelling. As an author, Jack writes mostly horror and young adult fantasy. Also an avid gamer, she works as the lead news editor at Hardcore Droid. When she isn't writing or playing games, she can often be found binge-watching Parks & Rec or The Office, proudly considering herself to be a cross between Leslie Knope and Pam Beasley.
