Netflix sets up first internal studio to develop video games

Netflix currently has 31 mobile games in its catalog, which are free of ads and in-app purchases but only available to subscribers. The company plans to have 50 games available by the end of the year. — AFP

Netflix Inc. is creating its first in-house video games studio in a push to be less reliable on third-party creators and expand its gaming offerings.

The new studio will be based in Helsinki and headed by Marko Lastikka, according to a statement from Netflix on Monday (Sept 26). Lastikka previously spent more than five years at Zynga Inc., where he worked on FarmVille 3, and before that was the co-founder and executive producer at Electronic Arts Inc.’s Tracktwenty studio in Helsinki, according to his LinkedIn page.