Next Games is now the only internal studio at Netflix, in addition to the streaming service's gaming team<\/p>\n
Netflix has closed Night School Studio and Helsinki-based Moonloot Games.<\/p>\n
A representative told Game Developer that the company is also eliminating additional roles across its games teams. The number of affected employees was not disclosed.<\/p>\n
Netflix acquired Night School in 2021 as it entered the games market and hired Mike Verdu as VP of game development.<\/p>\n
During a 2024 restructure, Alain Tascan became president of games while Verdu transitioned to VP of generative AI. Verdu left the company in March 2025.<\/p>\n
Night School launched its latest title, Unhinged, six weeks ago. The studio is best known for the 2016 game Oxenfree and its sequel, Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals, released in 2023.<\/p>\n
Last February, Night School reduced its workforce by an undisclosed amount. Reports indicated these cuts would not affect games in development.<\/p>\n
Netflix recently recognised Night School's Unhinged as one of its most successful cloud debuts, along with Refactor Games' FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition. Refactor Games, partially owned by Delphi Interactive, reduced its staff by 85% earlier this month.<\/p>\n
Moonloot was founded in 2022, led by Marko Lastikka. The studio had no announced projects, but was reportedly developing a title similar to Animal Crossing.<\/p>\n
"Games continue to be an opportunity for us to expand the variety of entertainment we offer Netflix members, and we've built solid foundations in our key focus areas," a spokesperson told Game File.<\/p>\n
"As we continue to prioritise these areas, we see an opportunity to be more focused in our execution, so we are making organisational changes to the business to match those priorities."<\/p>\n
In February 2024, Netflix cancelled six game launches to better align its portfolio with "what members like".<\/p>\n
Netflix then redefined its games division strategy around four pillars: mainstream games, narrative games, party games, and kids games.<\/p>\n
After the global launch of Netflix Playground in April, the platform's dedicated mobile app for kids tripled its daily player count, resulting in a 600% year-on-year increase in kids' engagement.<\/p>\n
Next Games is now the only internal studio at Netflix, in addition to Netflix's gaming team, which works with external developers. Netflix acquired Next Games in 2022 for approximately \u20ac65 million.<\/p>\n