Netflix closes its star-studded AAA studio before it announces a game

By Carli Velocci October 22, 2024 9:19AM

Derek Malcolm / Digital Trends

Netflix has reportedly shut down its internal studio, referred to as Blue, which was made up of AAA video game industry veterans. The team was never officially announced even one game.

According to a report from Game File, the streaming service giant closed the Southern California studio as of this month. While it was one of many internal Netflix studios working on new titles, Blue stood out thanks to a series of high-profile hires over the past couple years.

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Netflix never officially announced what Blue was working on, but there were hints if you knew where to look. MobileGamer.biz spotted some job listings in November 2022 that mentioned Netflix was working on “a brand-new AAA PC game” and needed people with experience working on first-person or third-person shooters. This would have been a big departure for the company. While it had just started ramping up video game development at this point, it was mostly focused on mobile titles, and this signified that it was looking into a multi-platform strategy.

This was further bolstered by the industry veterans hired to lead the studio. Former executive producer on Overwatch Chacko Sonny left Blizzard in 2021 amid the fallout from an explosive lawsuit, and was tapped to lead Blue. Former God of War art director Rafael Grassetti was also hired in 2023, followed by Joseph Staten, who had worked on Halo games at Bungie and was hired by 343 Industries to get Halo Infinite over the finish line. Staten’s X (formerly Twitter) account says Blue was also working on an “original IP.”

While none of the executives have commented publicly on the shutdown, Grassetti did post an out-of-context popcorn gif. You can interpret that as you wish. Game File says all three executives are no longer with Netflix.

Netflix still has four internal studios currently working on titles. It acquired Oxenfree developer Night School Studio, mobile game developer Next Games, and Boss Fight Entertainment, and set up a studio in Helsinki in 2022. It also publishes third-party games on its platform, which is accessible to anybody with a Netflix subscription. Some games you can play include Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Spiritfarer, Into the Breach, and Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon

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Contributor, Games

Carli is a technology, culture, and games editor and journalist. They were the Gaming Lead and Copy Chief at Windows Central…

Gaming

Netflix games may be coming to TVs soon, as revealed by new iOS app

Selecting a game in Netflix Games.

It looks like Netflix might be expanding its gaming offerings to TVs soon, as a Netflix Game Controller is now on the iOS App Store. Netflix has yet to announce or comment on the purpose of the app, but a message shown when the app boots up confirms that it's coming.
Netflix has slowly made its way into the gaming industry over the past couple of years, acquiring studios and adding a dedicated game section to its mobile app that lets players download premium mobile games. The library includes some great games like Poinpy and Before Your Eyes, but has yet to break into the mainstream, likely due to its somewhat obscure availability. This new app, which was preemptively listed on Apple's storefront by Netflix and lines up with leaks from earlier this year, indicates that Netflix Games are coming to the TV.
The description for the app states that "this Game Controller app pairs with your TV and allows you to play games on Netflix using your phone or mobile device." After downloading and booting up the app, Digital Trends discovered two more messages asking players to "choose a game on your TV and follow the directions to connect" and that "Netflix Games on TV are in beta. Some devices may not be supported at this time."
All of this points to an impending beta rollout for games on Netflix's TV apps, which has not been announced yet. As such, we don't have any idea about which televisions or games the iOS app or Netflix Games on TV will support just yet. Regardless, this looks like a massive evolution for Netflix's gaming efforts, especially as it gears up to release a cloud gaming service.
Netflix declined to comment on the program when asked by Digital Trends, but it did refer us to previous statements it made about its intentions to break into cloud and TV game streaming.

Entertainment

Netflix may bring its gaming service to TVs, with iPhones serving as controllers

The Netflix Games section.

Netflix is working on a feature that will bring its games to smart TVs and allow players to use their iPhone as a controller, reports from Bloomberg and MacRumors' Steve Moser said on Wednesday.

The move would take Netflix’s gaming service beyond only smartphones and tablets, giving subscribers more ways to play. And for iPhone owners, it also eliminates the need to buy a dedicated controller, making it more likely that people would give its games a go.

Gaming

Netflix expands its game lineup with new titles from Ubisoft and more

Netflix is doubling down on its commitment to gaming. During a presentation attended by Digital Trends, the streaming service's games team teased four new titles. It highlighted how many games are in the works for Netflix as it continues to put its mark on mobile gaming and ramp up its efforts on its cloud gaming service.
The four games Netflix discussed were all from external studios. Following Valiant Hearts: Coming Home, Netflix is collaborating with Ubisoft again on the action roguelike Mighty Quest: Rogue Palace, which is based on the game Mighty Quest for Epic Loot and launches on April 18.
Ustwo Games is bringing complete versions of both Monument Valley titles to Netflix in 2024, building on the partnership established with Desta: The Memories Between. Netflix also confirmed that it is working with Catalyst Black and Vainglory developer Super Evil Megacorp on a tie-in game for an unannounced Netflix IP.
Finally, Netflix confirmed that it is working with developer Nanobit on another game based on the show Too Hot to Handle. Their previous tie-in game for that show is the most popular Netflix game.

Netflix made it clear that it understands that people like games that tie into known franchises and that there are plenty of titles still in the works. Leanne Loombe, vice president of External Games, confirmed that Netflix is currently working on 70 games with external developers, in addition to 16 titles that are in "early ideation" at its internal studios. She explained that the ultimate goal is for Netflix to release batches of new games that appeal to a wide variety of gamers every month.
"It's going to require us to release a variety of different games and take some risks, and not everything we launch will be a hit," Loombe explained. "But everything is going to be a great opportunity for us to continue to evolve our strategy and also our approach around games to make sure that we're bringing those most-played games to our members."
In the near term, that means the focus will remain on mobile games that players download on the App Store and Google Play Store before authenticating them through Netflix. Loombs also reaffirmed Netflix's efforts to build a cloud gaming platform, albeit slowly and steadily.
"We are very early in that side of our journey, but we are very committed to making sure that games can be played wherever you have Netflix," Loombe said. "We do believe that cloud gaming will enable us to provide that easy access to games on any screen, be frictionless, and provide that accessibility into gaming experiences. But we do want to be super thoughtful about how we build that and how we bring it to our members, ... just like we're doing for mobile games, we will take it slow."
Don't expect Netflix to be an immediate competitor for Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo, but don't be surprised if it ends up becoming very relevant in the mobile and cloud gaming spaces in the future.