Next Games shifts to quality-over-quantity strategy, grows to 150 staff under Netflix

Next Games grew staff from 90-100 to 150 under Netflix ownership. The studio launched seven titles, moving from F2P mobile RPGs to TV party games. Managing director Saara Bergstrom says each game solves a specific Netflix technology or collaboration challenge. The shift required abandoning free-to-play monetization logic for subscriber-retention-focused design.

Next Games runs five internal development teams plus a dedicated live-ops team.
A platform team supports every title from concept through live operations.
Two Helsinki co-development partners support three of the studio's live titles.
"Our focus is really on the quality, not the quantity." - Saara Bergstrom, Managing Director, Next Games

Each game carries a hidden mandate to fix a Netflix platform problem.
The problems include technology, cross-team collaboration, engineering and transmedia integration challenges.
Seven launched titles span mobile and TV, including Netflix Minigolf and Boggle Party.
The TV streaming push began in 2023, extending the studio beyond mobile-only development.

Bergstrom says the studio needed to unlearn assumptions built for free-to-play monetization.
"We needed to shed our skin from a lot of the old ways we had as free-to-play developers." - Saara Bergstrom, Managing Director, Next Games
That education effort extended to Netflix staff unfamiliar with game-industry norms, Bergstrom said.
Creative direction shifted toward a more casual audience, a full reversal from RPG roots.

Bergstrom says the games generate tangible value but declined to disclose performance figures.
Next Games has not confirmed whether a new title will launch this year.
The 2027 roadmap leans further into party games, the studio's current focus.
Internal alignment across Netflix's entertainment formats remains unverifiable without public performance data.

For Investors & VC: Discount F2P-studio exit premiums from streamers, since acquirers repurpose teams away from monetization expertise.
For Publishers & Developers: Prioritize couch-multiplayer prototypes when pitching streaming platforms seeking casual social formats.
For Service Vendors: Pitch TV-multiplayer porting and live-content capacity to Netflix first-party teams ahead of next year's slate.