For years, Netflix has told investors it is serious about investing in the video game industry. But the streamer's ambitions may have to be reconsidered once again. Boss Fight – Netflix Studio Game “Squid: Unleashed” mobile game – closed.
David Rippy, CEO and co-founder of Boss Fight, shared the news on his LinkedIn pageand shared his gratitude for the experience:
“Thank you to everyone who reached out today,” Rippy wrote. “It's definitely bad news, but I'm very grateful for the time we spent at Netflix. We worked with great people and created many games that I'm very proud of, including Squid Game Unleashed, which reached number one in 26 countries. You'll see a lot of Boss Fighters with similar posts. Please consider them if you have any open roles – they are outstanding people and true professionals in every way. As for Bill, Scott and I, we're going to take a little break before we do anything else next. I’d love to hear from you if anything interesting happens, work-related or anything else.”
Last summer, Netflix co-CEO, president and director Greg Peter said that the streamer is going to “increase” its investment in games partly to explore new monetization options. Earlier this month Netflix five new games added– Lego Party, Boggle Party, Pictionary: Game Night, Tetris Time Warp and Party Crashers – which can be played on the TV using the phone as a controller.
Netflix previously had even bigger plans for a AAA multiplayer shooter from a team that included Halo and Destiny veteran Joe Staten. However, this game and the studio behind it have been closed in 2024. Netflix executive director of gaming Alain Taskan later spoke. Bloomberg why the streamer closed this project.
“I don't want this move to be perceived as, 'We're not going to make big, ambitious games,'” Tuscan said. “It was just the genre of the game… I don't think it fit the platform. This team was really good at what they do, but we wouldn't have been a better partner for them to express their skills and experience.”
