Let the games begin! On Monday, Netflix announced its intention to add a gaming studio to its current "production and streaming powerhouse," CNN Business reports.
Amir Rahimi, the Netflix VP of Game Studios, revealed that the new studio will be "built from scratch" in Helsinki, Finland, and Marko Lastikka — formerly an executive at Zynga and Electronic Arts — will be the studio director. Rahimi explained that Helinski is also home to Next Games, which was acquired by the streamer earlier in the year as part of its ongoing push into gaming.
Netflix's product manager of mobile games, Sophia Yang, further said in a statement that the company will "continue to expand [its] mobile games catalog to span many genres and categories." Netflix is also working to "create game handles for a more personalized gameplay experience."
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Tom Forte, a senior research analyst at D.A. Davidson, told CNN that Netflix is "a long-term thinker," noting that "their pivots [from] DVDs to streaming" are an example of how "they think long-term and they act long-term."
Netflix saw a big decline in subscriptions during the spring and summer months of 2022, losing "almost a million subscribers," BBC News reports. Making inroads into gaming will give Netflix an opportunity to build revenue off its preexisting franchises that are already popular, such as the series Stranger Things, CNN adds.
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