It wouldn't be the year 2024 if it weren't for another studio closure or mass layoff every month that affects the video game industry. This time, the punchline is that the studio in question was one of Netflix's in-house game studios.

As reported by Stephen Totilo's Game File, Netflix closed one of its studios, known as Team Blue, effective October 2024. since Netflix began investing in games in 2021. This is the first time a studio has closed.

Team Blue was run by former “Overwatch” executive producer Chacko Sonny, and according to Totilo, Sonny hired several gaming industry veterans with experience on AAA games like Halo and God of War. The studio was reportedly developing a multi-platform AAA game. Team Blue was shut down before the game was released or even announced.

Since the gaming experiment began, Netflix has added many games to its service, including an ambitious plan to add one new game each month. Most of these are simple games based on existing Netflix productions like “Love is Blind” and “Stranger Things.” However, mobile versions of indie classics like “Into the Breach” and popular games like the recently added “GTA” trilogy remaster have also been added.

Other in-house studios have added interesting games like Oxenfree II, apparently produced by Night School Studio and still running. As far as we know, other studios specializing in mobile, such as Spry Fox and their studio in Helsinki, are all still open.

According to their LinkedIn profiles, Sonny Chacko and other key hires like Joseph Staten and Rafael Gracetti still work for Netflix. However, a Netflix representative told Totilo that they are no longer with the company and that Team Blue has been shut down.

The company's AAA ambitions may be dead, but it is unclear whether streamers will leave gaming in any form in the long term.