• Netflix will open another game developer for its internal projects.
• This developer will be based in Helsinki, Finland, joining others. 
• No new games have been announced just yet. 

Netflix has once again pushed forwards with its plans to offer gaming alongside movie and TV streaming on its platform as it expands with another internal game studio in Europe.

Amir Rahimi, VP of Game Studios, has issued an announcement of the opening, but we’re going to cut off any expectations here: no new games or even hints to new games come along with this news.

“Today, I’m excited to announce that we are establishing an internal games studio in Helsinki, Finland, with Marko Lastikka as the studio director. This is another step in our vision to build a world-class games studio that will bring a variety of delightful and deeply engaging original games — with no ads and no in-app purchases — to our hundreds of millions of members around the world,” Rahimi writes.

Increasing prices, adverts and other bad user experiences like clamping down on password sharing have all affected Netflix in recent times, leading to many becoming dissatisfied with their continued support of the company. It may be why one million subscribers left in the last three months.

It’s interesting, then, that specific mention is made of a lack of adverts and in-app purchases for these games. We have to wonder how that will gel with the upcoming ad-supported Netflix subscription tier. Will this cheaper tier have no access to games? We’ll have to wait and see on that front.

“Why Helsinki? It is home to some of the best game talent in the world. This will be a games studio that we build from scratch, and our second games studio in Helsinki alongside Next Games, which became part of Netflix earlier this year. Along with Night School Studio and Boss Fight Entertainment, these four studios, each with different strengths and focus areas, will develop games that will suit the diverse tastes of our members,” Rahimi adds. 

Outside of the companies and games mentioned above, our personal recommendation for a game to test drive Netflix is Into the Breach. The mechs versus kaiju strategy title from the same developer as FTL is perfect for game streaming as it is turn-based and can be fully enjoyed even on a spotty connection.

On top of that it’s simply a fantastic game on its own, as proven by our glowing review from its original launch in 2018. Into the Breach was added to Netflix earlier this year.

Will the future of gaming on the platform be ports of third party games like Into the Breach, or will these internal studios create unmissable experiences that can only be streamed? Once again we’ll need to wait and see.