Netflix in the present day closed one among its inner sport studios, one which was poised to launch a triple-A title, earlier than it was in a position to produce something. The studio was known as Crew Blue, based in 2022 and primarily based on Los Angeles, and was allegedly engaged on a PC sport. Because of this studio closure, the corporate has additionally misplaced the expertise it very publicly employed, and has additionally reportedly made different layoffs in its video games division.
Sport File reported the closure, saying that Crew Blue was engaged on a “big-budget multi-device technique” on the time. To workers out this new studio, Netflix employed a number of recognizable names from main video games corporations — together with studio lead Chacko Sonny, previously Overwatch’s govt producer; artistic director Joseph Staten, previously artistic lead on Halo; and artwork director Rafael Grassetti, previously of Sony Santa Monica. In line with the Sport File report, all three have left the corporate with the closure of the LA studio.
Netflix has a number of inner studios the place it’s constructing video games for its platform. It acquired the likes of Night time College, Boss Battle, Subsequent Video games and Spry Fox, and constructed two studios of its personal — other than Crew Blue, it additionally has a studio in Helsinki. At current, these studios all seem like intact, although a latest report from Enterprise Insider means that Netflix has laid off a number of folks inside its video games division.
The streaming firm has additionally shifted its video games technique this yr, as Mike Verdu, who spearheaded its video games initiative, shifted to a brand new position. It additionally employed Alain Tascan as its president of video games earlier this yr. Shortly earlier than Tascan’s hiring, Netflix’s VP of exterior video games Leanne Loombe instructed the Washington Submit that the corporate needed to take a mobile-first strategy to video games launches, and talked about that Netflix’s subscribers seem to favor brief, “snackable” cell video games.
