Five years after Netflix acquired it, the streaming giant has cut an unspecified number of staff at the studio behind the indie hit, Oxenfree.
Bizarre things continue to unfold at Netflix’s gaming division, as it’s reported that the streaming firm has laid off staff at Night School Studios. The developer behind the indie hit Oxenfree and its 2023 sequel Oxenfree II: Lost Signals was purchased by Netflix in 2021 while that latter game was still in development.
According to GameDeveloper, the number of staff affected hasn’t been disclosed, nor has Netflix come forward with an official comment on the matter. Speaking anonymously, employees at Night School told the outlet that the layoffs were announced internally in January, and “shocked team members.”
The news comes only a few months after what appeared to be a shakeup began at Netflix Games. Last October, the firm shut down Team Blue, an internal development studio it founded in 2022; formed to develop a “brand-new triple-A multi-platform game” it instead closed before it could release so much as a demo.
Weeks after that announcement, in November 2024, Mike Verdu was shifted from the division’s vice president of Netflix Gaming to vice president of generative AI. One Alain Tascan took over his old VP role.
Read more: Oxenfree II: Lost Signals review | A spine-tingling, sparky sequel
It’s currently unclear what Night School has been working on since the release of Oxenfree II – a 2D supernatural adventure that, like its predecessor, was filled with wit and suspense.
Speaking of Netflix’s acquisition of Night School to the late Wireframe magazine in 2021, studio director Sean Krankel said, “Right now, it just means that we are able to keep doing what we do without the risk of – and fear of – going under, like every studio feels. It’s been extraordinary for us finding this partnership with Netflix, because they look to us to just keep expanding on the types of stories and game experiences that we’ve built, and afford us the opportunity to experiment even more than we have.”
Our sympathies, as always, to those affected. Here’s hoping the studio can continue to make smart, absorbing games in the wake of those layoffs.
