Netflix creates its first in-house game studio

Netflix is ​​building its own in-house game studio as it seeks to rely less on third-party developers.

The new studio will be based in Helsinki and led by Marko Lastikka as director, formerly of Zynga and EA.

The studio will create “world-class” original games without ads or in-app purchases, reports Engadget.

In the past, Netflix has purchased existing studios. It will be the first he will build from scratch.

Previously acquired developers include mobile developer The Walking Dead Next Games (acquired in March) and Oxenfree creator Night School Studio.

However, the games won’t be released from this new studio for some time.

“This is another step in our vision to build a world-class games studio that will bring a variety of delicious and deeply engaging original games – with no ads and no in-app purchases – to our hundreds of millions of members around the world, said Amir Rahimi, Vice President of Game Studios, in a press release.

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

Currently, a number of existing titles are now available on mobile through the Netflix app. That said, a recent report noted that less than one percent of Netflix subscribers play its games daily.

Still, Netflix is ​​slowly adding social features to its games service, with game handles now available in games like Into The Breach.

Additionally, new job postings spotted last month suggest that Netflix is ​​expanding its gaming offering.