Netflix's Southern California game studio has been shut down
Known as Team Blue, the studio had such talent as Halo's Joseph Staten, Overwatch's Chacko Sonny, and Sony Santa Monica's Rafael Grassetti.
Though it was seemingly just ramping up with more games, Netflix has supposedly closed its Southern California studio. This video game development studio had several high profile developers in its halls that were working on a large, multi-device original IP.
Source: Netflix
On October 21, 2024, Stephen Totilo of Game File reported that Netflix has shut down one of its AAA video game studios. Known as Team Blue, this studio was purportedly working on a multi-platform, big-budget original IP for the streaming company.
Netflix had recently expanded the studio with Joseph Staten, a former Bungie employee who was the director of cinematics at the company and responsible for the original Halo trilogy. Totilo’s reporting also makes note that Netflix brought on Chacko Sonny, who left Activision Blizzard toward the end of 2021.
It’s certainly surprising to see Netflix dial back so much on its video game front. The company had only recently announced a Squid Game multiplayer title that is scheduled to launch alongside season two of the show. There have also been several well-received titles added to the subscription service, including the likes of Grant Theft Auto.
Where this leaves Joseph Staten, Chacko Sonny, Rafael Grassetti and the rest of the talent developers at Team Blue remains to be seen. To that end, it’s also not clear whether Netflix has canceled the game that Staten and the team was working on or if it will continue to be developed by another studio. Keep your eyes trained on our Netflix Games page for more information.
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