Published , by TJ Denzer
Published , by TJ Denzer
With Netflix having regularly been in the news lately for its aspirations to break into the gaming space, it looks like it’s made another big move in that endeavor. The company just announced the acquisition of Night School Studio, the development studio responsible for the creation of horror/thriller adventure game Oxenfree. Night School will come under the Netflix umbrella even as it continues work on the upcoming Oxenfree 2.
Netflix announced the acquisition of Night School Studio in a press release on the Netflix website on September 28, 2021, with Night School confirming on its own website.
“Founded by Sean Krankel and Adam Hines in 2014, Night School Studio is best known for their critically acclaimed debut game, Oxenfree,” wrote Netflix VP of Game Development Mike Verdu. “We’re inspired by their bold mission to set a new bar for storytelling in games. Their commitment to artistic excellence and proven track record make them invaluable partners as we build out the creative capabilities and library of Netflix games together.”
Night School Studio was equally enthusiastic about the acquisition, sharing excitement to join in the formative foundation of Netflix’s gaming efforts.
“Night School wants to stretch our narrative and design aspirations across distinctive, original games with heart,” wrote Night School co-founder Sean Krankel. “Netflix gives film, TV, and now game makers an unprecedented canvas to create and deliver excellent entertainment to millions of people. Our explorations in narrative gameplay and Netflix’s track record of supporting diverse storytellers was such a natural pairing. It felt like both teams came to this conclusion instinctively.”
With teases of plans to bring Netflix gaming mostly to mobile devices and pair it into existing subscriptions without a change in cost, the acquisition of Night School Studio is perhaps one of the biggest concrete moves of Netflix’s plans yet. Stay tuned as we continue to follow along for more details on both Netflix gaming and Night School’s Oxenfree 2, the latter of which is said to be launching sometime this fall.