In context: Netflix is doubling down on its gaming ambitious, having agreed to purchase Finnish developer Next Games as part of a deal valued around $72 million. Next Games launched in 2013 as a mobile-focused studio that builds titles based on popular entertainment franchises including The Walking Dead and Netflix's own Stranger Things. The company's last game, The Walking Dead: Our World, dropped for Android and iOS in 2018.
At the end of 2021, Next Games had roughly 120 employees on payroll and generated approximately $30.2 million in revenue the year prior, 95 percent of which came from in-game purchases.
Michael Verdu, VP of games at Netflix, said they are just getting started in games but are confident that together with Next Games, they will be able to build a portfolio of world class games to delight members worldwide.
Next Games said its board of directors has unanimously decided to encourage shareholders to accept the offer.
Netflix has no shortage of original programming it could base games off of. Another Stranger Things game would make a lot of sense, especially if it could be timed with the upcoming two-part premiere of season four. A title based on Squid Game seems like a given as well.
The streaming giant also scooped up Night School Studio - best known for its supernatural mystery game Oxenfree - back in September, and added two more games to its growing stable last month: Dungeon Dwarves and Hextech Mayhem.