Gaming
Netflix’s gaming studio Team Blue is officially kaput amid layoffs
It’s closing down despite big hires from the gaming industry, all of whom have now been let go.
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It looks like Netflix’s big-time gaming ambitions have hit a slippery patch. The internal studio, Team Blue, unveiled in October 2022 with a lot of fanfare, has been shut down.
This comes as a surprise, given the big-name hires like former Overwatch executive producer Chacko Sonny, Halo Infinite creative lead Joseph Staten, and Sony Santa Monica art director Rafael Grassetti.
But those “next big thing in gaming” ambitions seemed short-lived. Gamefile reports that all three big hires are no longer at the company. A reason for the closure wasn’t provided, but it feels rather sudden.
Former Blizzard and Bungie design lead Gavin Irby, who joined the studio in October 2023, shared a job listing for a senior technical designer on LinkedIn two months ago.
There have been some recent changes at the top: Alain Tascan, previously the executive vice president of game development at Epic, joined Netflix in July as its new president of games, while Verdu moved to a new role focusing on “transformative innovation in game creation and development,” whatever that means.
Netflix has had some notable successes with its mobile platform, including the well-regarded Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals and the Grand Theft Auto trilogy, which Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said in February was “a resounding success, quickly yielding the highest rate of installs and engagement on [Netflix’s] game platform.”
Even so, while Netflix isn’t completely backing off on games, it sounds like the focus is shifting.
In an October investors call, co-CEO Gregory Peters said Netflix is “excited about games based on Netflix IPs,” including Squid Game, Virgin River Christmas, and The Ultimatum, and also mentioned the upcoming release of Monument Valley 3, which will be exclusive to Netflix Games.
The lofty ambitions of 2022 and “the next big thing in gaming” went entirely unmentioned. How convenient because this screams a flashing red sign of new leaders pulling back from one big bet,
Netflix confirmed with PC Gamer that the Gamefile report is accurate but declined further comment.
What are your thoughts on Netflix’s shifting gaming strategy? Do you think focusing on games based on Netflix IPs is the right move, or do you see potential in their previous ambitions for original gaming content? Let’s hear your opinions!
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