Netflix has shut down a development studio that was reportedly working on a high-profile (“AAA”) game for multiple platforms. This is reported by industry magazine Game File, and the streaming service has now confirmed the closure to US media. At the moment, there is not much information about the studio nor about the game which has now been discontinued. According to Game File, the studio was called “Blue” internally and Netflix hired high-ranking managers from the competition to manage it. Three managers, whose previous positions included Sony Studios in Santa Monica and Bungie, have already left Netflix after less than two years, This report statesOne of them announced in the spring of 2023 that it is working on a “brand new AAA title for different platforms” that does not expand on existing franchises.
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Netflix is keeping a low profile
Apart from series and movies, Netflix has also been offering games in its mobile application for years. This also includes particularly popular titles such as “GTA: The Trilogy” or “Hades”. Halo Studios with the hiring of Joseph Staton from Bungie then announce An ambitious multi-platform title and hopefully the streaming service will invest proper resources into the new studio. To what extent this happened and how far the development of the title progressed is not known. It is also unknown what were the reasons for the closure of Netflix.
Netflix’s games department has been led since 2021 by Mike Verdu, who previously worked as a manager at Electronic Arts and Facebook’s Oculus department, among other things. Under his auspices, several studios were purchased that were known for mobile games, including Next Games (“Stranger Things: Puzzle Quest,” “The Walking Dead: Out World”) and Night School Studios (“Oxenfree”). Netflix has not yet commented on whether the closure of Studio Blue will also impact these studios and their mobile game development.
(mho)
