Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX), on Monday, said it will set up an internal game studio in Helsinki, Finland. Shares closed the regular session down about 1.0%.
Netflix is aiming at 50 games at its app by year-end
The announcement follows $72 million that it spent on Next Games – a Finland-based mobile games developer in November 2021.
So far, Netflix has more than 20 games on its app but less than 1.0% of its subscribers play those games daily, per the recent data from Apptopia.
Nonetheless, the news today reiterates that the media company is committed to expanding its footprint in gaming. Netflix wants the number of mobile games on its app to hit 50 by the end of 2022.
Its also set to launch a cheaper ad-supported tier on its streaming platform later this year. Still, Wall Street rates Netflix shares at “hold” only.
Netflix wants to expand its audience with gaming
The Nasdaq-listed firm confirmed its games will be free of advertisements. There won’t be any in-app purchases either. According to Amir Rahimi – Vice President of Game Studios at Netflix Inc:
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 game studios in our first year.
In its latest reported quarter, NFLX lost little under a million paid subscribers. Gaming, therefore, could be means for it to expand its audience. (find out more)
For the year, shares of the media company are down more than 60%.
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