Netflix closes its AAA game studio, shuttering the team that pulled in Halo and God of War veterans

What you need to know

• Netflix Games' Team Blue is being closed, according to statements given by Netflix to Game File. 
• Team Blue was building a multiplatform AAA game, and had been hiring top talent from across the gaming industry over the last couple of years. 
• Some of Team Blue's leadership included former Halo director Joseph Staten and God of War art director Rafael Grassetti.
• Netflix still holds multiple internal game development teams, including Oxenfree developer Night School Studio.

Another promising game studio is being shuttered. 

This time, the culprits are over at Netflix Games, with the company choosing to close down Team Blue, a studio based in Southern California in the U.S. that was working on a multiplatform AAA game. The closure was confirmed by Netflix in a statement to reporter Stephen Totilo's Game File subscription.

Team Blue picked up several veterans from across the gaming industry over the last couple of years, with the studio notably hiring Halo director Joseph Staten in 2023, with Staten having most recently served as creative director on Halo Infinite at 343 Industries (now Halo Studios). Team Blue also hired other senior talent like Rafael Grassetti, art director on God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarök at Sony Santa Monica, as well as Overwatch executive producer Chacko Sonny from Blizzard Entertainment.

Netflix Games continues to operate a few gaming studios, having acquired multiple teams in the past few years, including Oxenfree developer Night School Studio. The company also established a fourth team in Helsinki, Finland, to aid with mobile game development. 

A disappointing but not entirely shocking move

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It's become abundantly clear over the last couple of years that multiple titans of tech and entertainment aren't actually willing to invest the money and time it takes to craft larger games. Netflix has found some initial success in mobile games, and I expect the company will continue to double-down on that venture for the time being. 

A AAA studio though? It might've been several years before there was a game that was ready, something Netflix just isn't willing to see through. Personally, I'll remain disappointed, as I would've liked to see what this team could've accomplished.

At least outside of games, Netflix remains on a hot streak with its gaming-inspired animated series, with the recent launch of Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft and an upcoming second season of Castlevania: Nocturne.

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