Oxenfree Developer Night School Studio Suffers Layoffs

Netflix has issued a wave of layoffs targeting the Oxenfree developer Night School Studio, letting go of a currently undisclosed number of employees. Night School Studio is an American video game developer founded in 2014 by Sean Krankel and Adam Hines, and the studio was previously acquired by Netflix. In addition to Oxenfree, the developer has released adventure titles Afterparty and Next Stop Nowhere, preceding the launch of Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals in 2023.

Oxenfree is a graphic adventure game released in 2016 and served as Night School Studio’s debut game. Players take on the role of teenager Alex while visiting a local island that harbors supernatural occurrences. Oxenfree is considered one of the most underrated story-driven games to exist, influenced by coming-of-age shows and free from cutscenes, and was flooded with critical praise.

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Reported by Game Developer, it was understood that several Night School Studio workers have been made redundant under Netflix Games. Netflix acquired Night School Studio back in 2021, during the streaming giant’s leap onto the video game scene, and it was noted the current layoffs wouldn’t affect the development of the studio’s current projects. According to the original report, the employees wished to remain anonymous and revealed the layoffs were announced back in January which “shocked” all those involved.

Oxenfree Developer Night School Studio Hit With Layoffs by Netflix

Despite the service’s ambitious start in the video games industry, Netflix Games has canceled six games that were making their way to the platform, including Don’t Starve Together and Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game, and the studio declined to comment on the layoffs when asked by Game Developer. Additionally, it was stated that this decision was a part of Netflix’s process to “reorganize its video game business,” after the company shut down triple-A studio Team Blue in October 2024. New hire Alain Tascan, former Epic Games EVP of development, previously said Netflix was in a good position to “redefine the future of gaming,” and former Netflix Games head Mike Verdu transitioned to the new VP of GenAI in a bid to bring generative AI tools into Netflix’s game development.

Night School Studio’s layoffs sadly join a long and ongoing list of other developers around the world who have been subjected to the same fate, including the shocking dismissal of one Marvel Rivals development team despite the hero shooter being a massive success since its launch in December 2024. Other studios that have been affected by layoffs recently include the Crysis series developer Crytek, Funko Fusion studio 10:10 Games, and the Smite team at Hi-Rez Studios.

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August 29, 1997

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