Unhinged
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Netflix Shuts Down Oxenfree Creator Night School Studio in Gaming Pullback
Netflix has shut down Night School Studio, the developer behind Oxenfree, as part of a significant pullback from the gaming industry. Despite positive performance metrics for their recent horror title 'Unhinged,' Netflix is refocusing its gaming ambitions on children's and party titles, as well as established IPs.
Scabby versus Sharma, Twitch's GenAI admission, and Netflix shutters more studios - Patch Notes #65
Netflix has closed two more internal game studios, Night School Studio and Moonloot Games, despite recent success with its cloud gaming launches. Meanwhile, Twitch confirmed it will use user data to train Amazon's generative AI models by default. In other news, union workers protested Xbox's layoffs with a large inflatable rat and red flags, while the game 'Big Walk' surpassed one million sales and a game preservation project regained funding after previous cuts.
Netflix's gaming "secret weapon" is no more - Oxenfree studio Night School is to close
Netflix has closed Night School Studio, the developer behind Oxenfree and Unhinged, as part of a strategic shift to focus on more mainstream games. The company also shut down Moonloot and is reportedly cutting jobs from its internal games team. This move signifies a reduction in Netflix's gaming ambitions, moving away from experimental and narrative-driven titles.
Netflix shutters Night School Studio and Moonloot Games
Netflix has closed its internal game development studios Night School Studio and Moonloot Games, alongside eliminating additional roles within its gaming division. Night School Studio, known for Oxenfree and its sequel, recently released Unhinged. This move leaves Next Games as Netflix's sole internal studio, as the company refines its gaming strategy around four key pillars.
Netflix Closes Two More Studios
Netflix has closed two more of its game development studios, Night School and Moonloot, as part of a strategic shift to focus on games for kids, party games, story-driven titles, and games with mainstream hooks. This follows recent layoffs at Refactor Games, despite the success of their cloud-based titles like 'Unhinged'.
Netflix Announces Closure of Night School Studios and Moonlot
Netflix is shutting down its game development studios Night School Studio and Moonloot, and has confirmed job cuts within its games division. The company stated it aims to focus on more family-friendly and mainstream-appealing games. Night School Studio, known for narrative titles like Oxenfree, was acquired by Netflix in 2021.
Netflix shuts down Oxenfree studio Night School weeks after praising its 'really solid numbers'
Netflix has shut down Night School Studio, the developer behind Oxenfree, despite recently praising the studio's game 'Unhinged' for its strong performance. The closure comes as a surprise following positive remarks about the studio's numbers.
Five years after acquiring Oxenfree developer Night School Studio, Netflix are shutting them down
Netflix has shut down Night School Studio, the developer behind Oxenfree and Afterparty, five years after acquiring it. The streaming giant also closed Moonloot, another owned studio, and made unspecified cuts to its internal games team. This decision comes six weeks after the release of Night School's latest game, Unhinged.
Netflix closes Oxenfree developer Night School, just a month after praising its new game as one of the company's…
Netflix has closed developer Night School Studio, known for games like Oxenfree and Unhinged, less than two months after praising Unhinged's success. The company also announced layoffs within its Games business as it shifts focus. This follows Netflix's acquisition of Night School in 2021 and previous studio closures.
Netflix closing Oxenfree developer Night School Studio and Moonloot Games
Netflix has closed Oxenfree developer Night School Studio and Helsinki-based Moonloot Games, while also eliminating additional roles within its games division. The company stated it is refocusing its strategy on key areas like cloud and kids games, shifting away from mobile-first titles. This move follows a pattern of Netflix shutting down acquired studios and comes as the company partners with Rockstar Games for a Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer debut.
Netflix is closing Night School Studio and Moonlot
Netflix is closing two of its game development studios, Night School Studio and Moonlot, as part of broader "organizational changes." Night School Studio is known for creating the game Oxenfree, and recently released Unhinged. Moonlot, founded in 2022, had not released any games prior to its closure.
This Game Was Labeled A Success. Its Developer Laid Off 85% Of Staff 2 Months After Release.
Despite Netflix management labeling the FIFA World Cup Launch Edition as a successful cloud game release, its developer Refactor Games has laid off 85% of its staff, approximately 80 people. The studio's co-owner, Delphi Interactive, reportedly pulled funding after the game's launch in June. Developers were notified of the layoffs on July 31 and received no severance pay.
Unity brings dedicated engine support to Netflix Games
Unity is providing dedicated engine support to Netflix Games, aiming to simplify the creation of titles across Netflix's mobile and television platforms. This collaboration includes optimizations for Netflix's cloud gaming services, enabling studios to develop games for multiple platforms from a single build. Several Netflix titles, such as Unhinged and Squid Game: Unleashed, have already been developed using Unity.
Union slams Microsoft for "unfair labor practice", alleging Xbox "unlawfully" laid off staff
Microsoft's Xbox division is facing accusations of unfair labor practices, including unlawfully laying off staff without proper union notification or discussion. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) has filed complaints alleging refusal to bargain and coercive actions. Meanwhile, Netflix reported a 600% surge in kids' game engagement, driven by its dedicated mobile app, and expressed confidence in scaling its cloud gaming offerings.
Netflix says its critically-panned FIFA World Cup video game was a 'top tier' performer
Netflix has reported that its cloud games, specifically FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition and Unhinged, achieved 'top tier' performance and were its most successful cloud game debuts. Despite critical reception for FIFA World Cup, Netflix highlighted significant growth in its kid-focused 'Netflix Playground' app and an 11x increase in monthly active cloud game players since October.
Netflix Playground drives 600% surge in kids games engagement
Netflix's dedicated kids games app, Netflix Playground, has seen a 600% year-on-year increase in engagement since its April launch, tripling its daily player count. The company is also scaling its cloud gaming offerings, with monthly active players increasing elevenfold. Netflix is investing in its games division across four pillars: mainstream, narrative, party, and kids games.
Netflix's games strategy might be a mess, but Oxenfree studio's ingenious new chiller-thriller shows it has a secret weapon
Netflix's new horror game, Unhinged, developed by Night School Studio, utilizes a unique mechanic where players use their own mobile device to interact with the in-game character's phone. This innovative approach blurs the lines between the player's reality and the game's narrative, creating an immersive experience. Despite Netflix's often inconsistent gaming strategy, Unhinged showcases Night School Studio's potential as a secret weapon for the streaming giant.
Netflix Says Part Of Its Games Business Is Up 600%, But It’s Still Early Days
Netflix has reported significant growth in its gaming division, with engagement for kids' mobile games surging 600% year-over-year. Cloud gaming has also seen a substantial increase in monthly active players, growing 11x since October 2025. While still in its early stages, Netflix sees strong potential and is refining its strategy, focusing on social and party games, with upcoming titles like Netflix Minigolf integrating popular franchises.
Netflix has finally figured out how to get viewers off their phones with its newest horror game, but it doesn't…
Netflix's horror game Unhinged, directed by Zach Cregger and David Fincher, utilizes a player's phone as the primary controller and in-game device. While this offers immersion, the article notes it can be temperamental and frustrating, especially with constant notifications. Despite these issues and its short 30-minute runtime, the game is praised for its creepy atmosphere, strong acting performances from Zoë Kravitz, Sadie Sink, and Troy Baker, making it a worthwhile experience for Netflix subscribers.
How to play Unhinged on Netflix
This article provides a guide on how to play the game Unhinged, which is available on Netflix. The content suggests that playing the game is straightforward and aligns with its name.