Just days before Google decided to pull the plug on Stadia, Netflix announced that they will continue to invest into gaming by establishing a new internal games studio to help expand their first party offerings. Netflix’s latest studio (and the first to be built internally) will be based out of Helsinki, Finland and helmed by Marko Lastikka. Lastikka joins with a strong resume that includes time as a general manager and executive producer at Electronic Arts and most recently as a vice president at Zynga. Lastikka knows games, especially mobile games, and Netflix hopes he will be able to make use of his rich, gaming development background to help establish the new studio.
Netflix’s new yet-to-be-named studio will join fellow Netflix Studios Next Games (also in Helsinki), Night School Studio, and Boss Fight Entertainment to total four. Netflix launched its games section last year in hopes of adding further value to Netflix subscriptions and making its way into the lucrative mobile gaming market. Thus far only about 1% of Netflix subscribers have played a game on the service, but Netflix looks to increase that percentage with further investments into their first party offerings and third party partnerships. The current Netflix Games library has around twenty-five titles; Netflix is aiming to break fifty by the end of the year.
Image from: Netflix
