In late 2021, Netflix kicked off its gaming offensive with the acquisition of developer Night School Studio. Now the company is founding its first self-development studio.
Since 2022, streaming provider Netflix has seen drops in the number of subscriptions for the first time in its history (source: extra). In order to create more incentives to use the service, the company offers a constantly growing offer of games. There are now over 30 games that are free for Netflix subscribers. For the development of 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 a “world-class” development studio
In a press release dated Monday, September 26, 2022, the company announced the establishment of a new “in-house game studio” in Helsinki. It will sit there alongside developer studio Next Games, which was acquired by Netflix in early 2022. The development studio describes itself in the Netflix Jobs Page as a “small, lively team with big ambitions”. The goal is to create memorable gaming moments where players can tell their own stories.
This brings the number of Netflix game studios to four, which also includes Night School Studio and Boss Fight Entertainment. According to its own statements, the company plans to develop “original and fascinating 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. Consequently, the company has announced a collaboration with Ubisoft. Among other things, the French studio will develop an exclusive “Assassin’s Creed” game for Netflix.
Netflix games still in their infancy
Although the Netflix subscription game catalog already includes a wide selection, the response from users is quite poor. In August 2022, CNBC reported that less than one percent of Netflix subscribers made use of the gaming offer. The data comes from the analysis company App Store “Apptopia“. Netflix itself admits in its press release that it still has a long way to go to deliver “a great gaming experience.”
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Netflix press release: Building our in-house game studio (accessed 09/27/2022)
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