Summary
- Netflix cancels six upcoming games due to a changing strategy.
- The majority of the cancelled games are already available on other platforms, or will be soon.
- Despite the cancellations, Netflix Games continues to have a vast catalog and ongoing game development projects.
Netflix has revealed that it will no longer be releasing six games that were scheduled to be arrive on the streaming platform in the coming months. The video-on-demand streaming service began adding video games to its offering in 2021, eventually acquiring multiple development studios to work on projects in-house. These mobile games, a selection that has grown to more than 120, are available at no additional cost to Netflix subscribers and have no ads or in-app purchases.
The catalog available through Netflix Games currently includes some of the best titles in the industry, many of which are award winners like Oxenfree, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Dead Cells, and Hades. But the service also offers some exclusive hidden gems, like Valiant Hearts: Coming Home and Lucky Luna, which was in development for eight years before its successful release on Netflix Games.
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There is also an exciting lineup of games slated for release by Netflix Games, though the number has now decreased by six. Speaking with What’s On Netflix, a spokesperson explained that the cut was made as part of “adjusting our portfolio as we learn more about what our members like.” The cancelled games include three by Klei Entertainment – Lab Rat, Rotwood, and Don’t Starve Together – as well as Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game, Thirsty Suitors by Outerloop Games, and Compass Point: West.
Netflix Cancels the Release of 6 Games
|
Game Title |
Also Available On |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
|
Compass Point: West |
iOS |
|
|
Don’t Starve Together |
PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One |
|
|
Lab Rat |
Steam, Epic Games Store |
|
|
Rotwood |
Steam |
|
|
Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game |
PC, PS5, Series X/S, Switch |
Releases March 25, 2025 |
|
Thirsty Suitors |
Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Series X/S |
For some, this decision won’t necessarily come as a surprise. In October 2024, Netflix shut down its California-based Team Blue Studio, which housed industry veterans like Halo’s Joseph Staten and God of War 2018’s Rafael Grassetti. In explanation, co-CEO Gregory Peters said that the company is “refining our strategy” to focus more on narrative experiences based on Netflix franchises, as well as couch co-op and party games. The executive admitted that, at least for now, the number of subscribers who actually download the offered video games to their mobile devices is “relatively small.” The TV show and movie streaming platform also recently announced another price increase, little more than a year after the last one.
Luckily, though these six titles won’t make an appearance on Netflix Games, all but one of them are or will be available on other platforms. Of the six, getting a hold of Next Games’ Compass Point: West will prove the most difficult. The strategy game originally launched only on iOS in 2015, and the developer, now a Netflix Games subsidiary, has already developed three titles for the platform. Netflix currently has a massive number of games in development, and it seems that Compass Point: West is no longer on the books to bring to a wider audience.
Netflix
- founded
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August 29, 1997
- notable shows
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Stranger Things, The Witcher, Orange is The New Black