Netflix has reportedly initiated layoffs at Night School Studio after a January 2025 announcement, with an undisclosed number of staff losing their jobs. While the layoffs were not reported at the time, Game Developer has spoken to both current and former Night School Studio employees who confirmed the internal changes, and expressed great surprise.
Per these employees, the layoff announcement “shocked” team members, and the move was not expected. Notably, Night School Studio was acquired by Netflix in 2021, and has since been working on a range of projects for the streamer. One of these was Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals, the lukewarmly-received sequel to the original Oxenfree.
It was released on a variety of platforms, as well as being available on mobile with a Netflix subscription, although it’s unclear how well this sold – or whether Netflix’s target metrics were fulfilled by its release. Regardless, it does appear Netflix will continue supporting new works from Night School Studio, with Game Developer reporting the layoffs “won’t impact the studio’s current project slate.”
These projects remain unannounced.
Read: Aussie VR studio Toast Interactive shuts office, majority of staff made redundant
What’s happening at Netflix Games?
Elsewhere at Netflix, it appears the company is currently reshuffling its internal plans for video game development. In November 2024, the company announced a new VP of “GenAI for Games” at the same time that reports noted the streamer had shuttered its AAA Team Blue gaming studio, which featured the likes of Chacko Sonny (Activision Blizzard), Josep Staten (Bungie / 343 Industries), and Rafael Grassetti (Sony Santa Monica).
Prior to this decision, Netflix had been building up its game studio portfolio with a range of acquisitions, including Spry Fox, Boss Fight Entertainment, and Next Games, as well as Night School Studio.
Now, it’s unclear what Netflix has planned for its games division, and whether other layoffs are incoming. While the company had bold plans for its games offerings, a 2022 report that just 1% of users played Netflix Games threw an early spanner in the works. While this statistic is likely to have changed since this report, there has never been formal confirmation of exact growth, and it does appear engagement remains low.
For now, the company seems keen to press ahead with plans for its video games division, but we’ll have to wait to see how these pan out, and what’s in store for the future. As always, our thoughts are with those developers reportedly now out of work.
