Netflix has closed two game development subsidiaries: Night School Studio in Los Angeles and Moonloot Games in Helsinki. The decision marks another pullback in the company's strategy for first-party game development.
Night School was Netflix's first game studio acquisition, made in 2021. The developer created Oxenfree, Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals, and, most recently, Unhinged, a horror game released six weeks ago that received player praise. During Netflix's second-quarter earnings call in July, co-CEO Gregory Peters called Unhinged one of the company's "two most successful cloud game debuts." Moonloot, founded in September 2022, had not released any titles but was working on an unannounced life-simulation project inspired by Animal Crossing.
In a statement to GameFile, Netflix said it "sees an opportunity to be more focused in our execution" and maintains interest in releasing games on its platform. According to the company, the organizational change aims to align operations with current priorities, focusing on specific categories: Kids (Netflix Playground), Party (Netflix Minigolf), Narrative (Unhinged), and Mainstream (FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition).
The closure reflects Netflix's ongoing struggle to build a profitable games division despite spending on acquisitions and internal development. The company did not disclose the number of job cuts resulting from shuttering both studios.
