By Sagar V. Mankar Netflix has reportedly shut down its promising Southern California-based gaming studio, known as “Team Blue.”
According to Game File’s Stephen Totilo, “Team Blue,” which was seen as one of Netflix’s key players in developing high-quality AAA games across multiple platforms, is officially closed.
Team Blue stood out among Netflix’s gaming ventures due to its impressive roster of industry veterans. The studio had successfully attracted top talent, including Chacko Sonny, who previously led Overwatch at Blizzard and contributed to major titles like Call of Duty. Adding to this stellar lineup was Joseph Staten, a creative force behind Microsoft’s Halo series, who joined to lead an ambitious new gaming project. The team’s creative firepower was further strengthened by Rafael Grassetti, the acclaimed art director from Sony Santa Monica’s God of War studio.
Despite these high-profile appointments, the studio did not create any significant progress in multi-platform games and a Netflix representative told Game File that all three leading figures have now departed led to the studio’s closure as of October 2024.
This closure, however, doesn’t signal Netflix’s complete withdrawal from gaming. Since launching its gaming division in November 2021, the company has built an impressive portfolio through strategic acquisitions of four gaming studios: Night School, Boss Fight, Next Games, and Spry Fox. Alongside Team Blue in Southern California, Netflix also created an internal studio in Helsinki, Finland.
To date, Netflix has released more than 100 games, including hits like Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, which was considered one of the best games of 2023. They have also launched games based on popular Netflix series under the separate label “NETFLIX STORIES” such as Too Hot to Handle, Emily in Paris, and Money Heist.
The company has also successfully leveraged its popular IPs like Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy, Sonic Mania, and Hades.
At recent Netflix’s Geeked Week 2024 event, the company announced exciting partnerships with major gaming companies CAPCOM and Take-Two Interactive, which will bring games like Street Fighter IV Champion Edition and Civilization VI to its subscribers.
Additionally, Netflix has over 80 games currently in development, including a multiplayer game based on the popular Squid Game series.
Recently, Netflix made a leadership change within its gaming division. In July 2024, Alain Tascan from Epic Games took over as the president of Netflix’s games division, following Mike Verdu’s shift into a new role within the company. This change marks another step in Netflix’s evolving strategy for its gaming business.