Netflix is setting up an in-house game studio in Helsinki, Finland, announcing it will be led by former studio director Zynga and Electronic Arts, Marco Lastica.
“This is another step in our vision to build a world-class game studio that delivers a diverse range of exhilarating and deeply engaging original games – without ads and without in-app purchases – to hundreds of millions of members around the world,” Amir Rahimi, Vice President of Game Studios at Netflix, wrote in a post. A blog announcing the studio’s launch.Rahimi joined Netflix in November 2021, after serving as President of Games for Scopely, and previously served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of FoxNext.
Netflix started its push into gaming last summer and now offers more than two dozen titles in its catalog. The idea is that the added value of gaming, included as part of the core video streaming service, will reduce disruption and enhance customers’ perception of value.
The in-house game studio creation in Helsinki will be Netflix’s fourth studio, having acquired three independent game studios: Night School Studio, better known by its supernatural adventure moniker “Oxenfree”; Next Games, a mobile game development company based in Finland, whose titles include “Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales” and two AMC television series “The Walking Dead”; and Boss Fight Entertainment (“Dungeon Boss”).
Why is Netflix Games setting up a store in Helsinki? According to Rahimi, the city is “home to some of the best gaming talent in the world,” and he noted that Helsinki is also home to the following games.
“It could take years to create a game, so I am proud to see how we steadily build the foundation for our game studios in our first year, and we look forward to sharing what we produce in the years to come,” Rahimi wrote.
At Zynga — which was acquired by Take-Two Interactive earlier this year — Lastikka was the co-founder and general manager of game development studio Zynga Helsinki, working on “FarmVille 3.” Prior to joining Zynga in January 2017, he was the co-founder and CEO of EA Helsinki tracktwenty game studio, responsible for creating and delivering live mobile game “SimCity BuildIt”.
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