Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) has shut down its Southern California AAA game studio, Team Blue, marking a significant shift in its gaming ambitions.
The closure comes less than a year after the studio's formation and amid the departure of several high-profile executives brought in to spearhead a big-budget project.
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As first reported by Game File, Netflix confirmed the closure of its fifth internal studio. Three key figures — studio lead Chacko Sonny, creative director Joseph Staten, and art director Rafael Grassetti — have left the company.
Sonny, a veteran in the gaming industry and former executive producer on Overwatch, was hired in October 2022 to lead Team Blue. Staten, known for his work on Halo, joined in April 2023 to develop a new AAA intellectual property (IP), while Grassetti, who was art director on God of War, came on board in May 2023 to collaborate on the same project.
The studio was reportedly pursuing a “big-budget multi-device strategy,” according to Game File. The project never reached a stage where details about the game were publicly released.
The closure also coincides with broader changes within Netflix's gaming division. Just last week, Netflix Games President Alain Tascan announced the hiring of Jeet Shroff, a former vice president of games development at Epic Games.
Shroff has taken on the role of vice president of games tech and portfolio development at Netflix. His hiring was part of a restructuring effort that reportedly included a round of layoffs impacting 35 employees across the company's gaming division, as noted by Business Insider.
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