Netflix Closes Night School Studio and Moonloot Games
The closures mark a retreat from the in-house studio model Netflix pursued after entering gaming in 2021, leaving its gaming division with only a central team and Next Games, a shift toward mass-market and party games.
Key Facts
- Netflix is closing Night School Studio, acquired in 2021, and Moonloot Games, established in 2022.
- Night School Studio released the horror game Unhinged in July 2026, which uses a smartphone as a controller.
- Netflix's gaming division will consist of a central team and the studio Next Games after the closures.
- Netflix previously closed Team Blue in 2024, Boss Fight in October 2025, and Spry Fox in December 2025.
- A Netflix spokesperson cited a focus on children's games, party games, story-driven works, and broadly appealing titles as the reason for the closures.
Reporting from 3 sources: Automaton, Game Spark, GIGAZINE.
Netflix is closing two of its game development studios, Night School Studio and Moonloot Games, according to a report from Game File that the company confirmed. Night School Studio, known for the graphic adventure game Oxenfree, was acquired by Netflix in 2021. Moonloot Games, based in Helsinki, Finland, was established as an internal studio in 2022. The closures come less than five years after Netflix began its full push into gaming in 2021. Night School Studio had just released the horror game Unhinged in July, which uses a smartphone as a controller. A Netflix spokesperson told Game File that the company is making organizational changes to focus on games with broad appeal, such as children's games, party games, story-driven works, and titles like the FIFA World Cup Launch Edition. The spokesperson also expressed gratitude to departing staff. Netflix has already closed or sold several other studios since 2024, including Team Blue, Boss Fight, and Spry Fox. After these closures, Netflix's gaming division will consist of a central team that works with external developers and the studio Next Games.
The closures follow a pattern of shrinking the in-house studio roster. Netflix closed Team Blue, a studio with former Call of Duty and Halo developers, in October 2024; Boss Fight, which made the Squid Game mobile game, in October 2025; and let Spry Fox go independent in December 2025. After the two new closures, the gaming division is left with a central team that works with external developers and Next Games, a studio that makes party games.
Netflix CEO Greg Peters praised Unhinged and the FIFA World Cup Launch Edition as having "very strong numbers" during an investor call in July. The company is shifting toward streaming games to PC and TV, using smartphones as controllers, a scheme Unhinged already uses. A spokesperson told Game File: "We are deeply grateful to the talented colleagues we are saying goodbye to today. We thank them for their contributions to Netflix and wish them all the best in their future endeavors."
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 3 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.