After just two years, and no games released, Netflix has closed down Team Blue. The gaming studio had been opened as part of an initiative to create AAA games, and had attracted some major talent, including God of War art director Raf Grassetti. According to a report from Game File‘s Stephen Totilo, the studio has been shuttered as part of a “gaming shake-up” at Netflix. What this means for the future of the company’s gaming offerings remains to be seen. If Netflix does plan on sticking with gaming, it’s possible we’ll see it continue to focus on smaller games from outside studios.
Over the last few years, Netflix has made a concerted effort to break into the video game industry, but the company has struggled to get subscribers to take notice. A 2022 report from CNBC claimed that just 1% of Netflix subscribers actively play the company’s video game offerings. The situation hasn’t seemed to improve over the last two years, either. On an earnings call in November 2023, Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters acknowledged that gaming had been slow to attract an audience. However, Peters expressed confidence that gaming offers “a tremendous amount of opportunity to build a long-term center value of entertainment.”
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The closure of Team Blue is the first suggestion that Netflix is starting to have doubts about the viability of gaming as a business model. Gaming seemed to offer Netflix a chance to show growth, and compete with services like Xbox Game Pass. The service has built an impressive library of games over the years, but the whole process is needlessly cumbersome, and that has prevented Netflix gaming from taking off. For one thing, the games offered are still only playable on mobile devices. Netflix experimented with ways of letting subscribers play these games on their TV, but there still isn’t a widely available option to do so. Basically, you have to download mobile apps through Netflix to your phone to play them. This has also had an impact on general public awareness.
That brings up another major problem with Netflix games: they’re largely available on countless other platforms. Sure, it’s great that subscribers can play games like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge or Grand Theft Auto: Vice City without spending any extra, but these are games that are widely available on countless other platforms, and if you play them on Switch, PS5, or Xbox, you can play them on your TV set. Netflix does have some exclusive games, but they haven’t been big enough to really grab the attention of users. That was the point of Team Blue, and now that studio no longer exists.
As of this writing, there has been no indication that Netflix will be ending its video game initiative altogether. However, the situation hasn’t gotten better over the last few years, and it doesn’t seem like things are heading in a positive direction.
Have you played any video games through Netflix? Do you think the company’s gaming options will go away? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
