Netflix has reportedly laid off ‘multiple workers’ at Oxenfree developer Night School Studio
The studio was the first game developer to be acquired by Netflix
Netflix has laid off numerous staff at Oxenfree developer Night School Studio, according to a new report.
Current and former employees, speaking under anonymity to Game Developer, say an undisclosed number of employees were laid off.
According to the sources, the layoffs were announced in January and came as a surprise to staff.
Night School Studio was acquired by Netflix back in 2021, becoming the first game developer to be acquired by the streaming company.
For a number of years Netflix has made clear its intention to branch into video games as well as its trademark streaming service.
Players can access a selection of mobile and TV streaming games as part of their Netflix subscription, a number of which are exclusive to Netflix.
However, in recent months it’s also been shutting down numerous aspects of its video game arm, in an attempt to reorganise the interactive side of its business.
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In October 2024 it shut down its triple-A studio, known within the company as Team Blue. Netflix had spent the past couple of years acquiring a number of veteran developers – including Overwatch executive producer Chacko Sonny, Halo veteran Joseph Staten and former God of War series art director Raf Grassetti – to join the studio, which was said to be working on an original, mutliplatform triple-A game.
The following month it then removed almost all of its interactive specials, which played out like branching stories with players making decisions to progress the story in various directions. 20 of its 24 interactive specials were removed by December 1.
Despite these actions, Netflix still appears to be committed to including games as part of its service. In December 2024 it released mobile title Squid Game: Unleashed, and it recently announced plans to bring the WWE 2K series to mobile as a Netflix exclusive.
