Netflix founds its own development studio

At the end of 2021, Netflix launched its gaming offensive with the acquisition of developer Night School Studio. Now the company is founding its first own development studio.

Since 2022, the streaming provider Netflix has recorded falling subscription numbers for the first time in its history (source: extra). In order to create more incentives for using the service, the company provides a steadily growing gaming offer. There are now more than 30 games that are free for Netflix subscribers. For the development of the small games, the company has acquired the studios Next Games, Night School Studio and Boss Fight Entertainment. But now Netflix is ​​founding its first developer studio.

Netflix wants to build “world-class” development studio

In a press release on Monday, September 26, 2022, the company announced the establishment of a new “internal games studio” in Helsinki. It will sit there together with the developer studio Next Games, which was only acquired by Netflix in early 2022. The developer studio describes itself on the Netflix Jobs Page as a “small, lively team with big ambitions”. The aim is to create memorable gaming moments in which gamers can tell their own stories.

This brings the number of Netflix’s games studios, which also includes Night School Studio and Boss Fight Entertainment, to four. According to its own statements, the company plans to develop “engrossing, original games”. As before, these games should be ad-free and free for subscribers.

However, Netflix not only relies on its own studios, but also cooperates with other developers. The company has accordingly announced a collaboration with Ubisoft. Among other things, the French studio is to develop an exclusive “Assassin’s Creed” game for Netflix.

Netflix Games still in its infancy

Although the games catalog in the Netflix subscription already includes a wide selection, the response from users is rather poor. In August 2022, CNBC reported that less than one percent of Netflix subscribers made use of the gaming offer. The data comes from App Store analytics company “Apptopia“. Netflix itself admits in its press release that it still has a long way to go to deliver “a great gaming experience”.

source

Netflix press release: Building Our Internal Games Studio (accessed on 09/27/2022)

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