Netflix announces creation of in-house game studio in Helsinki

Netflix has announced the creation of an internal games studio.

The streaming giant has established a studio in Helsinki, Finland, it announced Monday, led by former Zynga Helsinki general manager Marko Lastikka.

For nearly a year, Netflix subscribers in numerous regions have had access to a library of mobile titles through the Android and iOS versions of the Netflix app.

However, to date these titles have been created by external companies or ones that it has acquired, such as Oxenfree creator Night School Studio.

“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,” Netflix’s games boss Amir Rahimi said.

“It’s still early days, and we have much more work to do to deliver a great games experience on Netflix. Creating a game can take years, so I’m proud to see how we’re steadily building the foundation of our games studios in our first year, and look forward to sharing what we produce in the coming years.”

Netflix recently signed a deal with Ubisoft to create three new exclusives, including an Assassin’s Creed game, and confirmed that several other high-profile titles are coming.