Netflix shutters its only triple-A studio, loses major industry hires

Netflix today closed one of its internal game studios, one which was poised to release a triple-A title, before it was able to produce anything. The studio was called Team Blue, founded in 2022 and based on Los Angeles, and was allegedly working on a PC game. As a result of this studio closure, the company has also lost the talent it very publicly hired, and has also reportedly made other layoffs in its games division.

Game File reported the closure, saying that Team Blue was working on a “big-budget multi-device strategy” at the time. To staff out this new studio, Netflix hired several recognizable names from major games companies — including studio lead Chacko Sonny, formerly Overwatch’s executive producer; creative director Joseph Staten, formerly creative lead on Halo; and art director Rafael Grassetti, formerly of Sony Santa Monica. According to the Game File report, all three have left the company with the closure of the LA studio.

Netflix has several internal studios where it’s building games for its platform. It acquired the likes of Night School, Boss Fight, Next Games and Spry Fox, and built two studios of its own — aside from Team Blue, it also has a studio in Helsinki. At present, those studios all appear to be intact, though a recent report from Business Insider suggests that Netflix has laid off several people within its games division.

The streaming company has also shifted its games strategy this year, as Mike Verdu, who spearheaded its games initiative, shifted to a new role. It also hired Alain Tascan as its president of games earlier this year. Shortly before Tascan’s hiring, Netflix’s VP of external games Leanne Loombe told the Washington Post that the company wanted to take a mobile-first approach to games launches, and mentioned that Netflix’s subscribers appear to favor short, “snackable” mobile games.