Netflix is establishing its first internal video game studio.
The studio will be based in Helsinki, where it will be led by former Zynga VP and GM Marko Latiskka.
Netflix also owns Helsinki-based studio Next Games, which it acquired earlier this year. Netflix also purchased game developers Night School and Boss Fight Entertainment in September 2021 and March 2022, respectively.
The streaming giant’s venture into gaming comes as the company has shed subscribers to its streaming service amid increased competition, causing it to launch an ad tier this fall.
Amir Rahimi, Netflix’s VP of game studios, said the unnamed new studio “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”.
