Netflix Games (Image: Netflix)
Netflix’s AAA gaming studio, Team Blue, isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think about the company.
The gaming studio closed after three years. This highlights the trend of larger companies creating gaming divisions and quitting once they do not turn a profit. Netflix declined to explain why it closed its gaming studio, but speculation abounds on social media, ranging from overproliferation, game bloat or inexperience in the division.
Netflix’s Team Blue hired veteran game makers to start their journey into gaming. Their star-studded lineup, which included former Overwatch executive producer Chacko Sonn, Halo creative director Joseph Staten and God of War art director Rafael Grassetti, is no longer with the company.
Netflix acquired more gaming companies to their roster, but this foray into gaming appears to have flopped.
Large non-gaming-based companies like Amazon have tried this before, and it’s gone downhill, placing others on shaky ground.
AAA studios allow for creative freedoms backed by significant budgets.
The gaming industry is rife with conflicts between game makers and developers. Veteran game developers’ departures usually signal internal issues or project cancellations.
Netflix declined to release statements on the subject, leaving only theories as to what is behind the mystical curtain labeled “Netflix Game Development.”
Although Netflix closed Team Blue, it still has other gaming assets, such as Netflix Interactive Stories and other apps offered on the platform, leaving the company halfway out the door but not fully out.
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