Netflix Shuts Down Night School and Moonloot Game Studios
Netflix has closed two more of its internal game studios — Night School Studio in Los Angeles and Moonloot in Helsinki — narrowing its gaming ambitions to four categories: kids' games, party games, story-driven titles, and games with mainstream hooks like its recently released FIFA game.
The closures were first reported by Game File on 13 August 2026 and confirmed by Netflix the same day. A Netflix representative told the outlet: "We see an opportunity to be more focused in our execution, so we are making organizational changes to the business to match those priorities." A spokesperson added: "We are incredibly grateful to the talented colleagues we're saying goodbye to today." Netflix is also cutting jobs from its internal games team, though a representative declined to say how many roles were being lost. Game File
Night School was perhaps the most recognised name in Netflix's gaming portfolio. Acquired in 2021, the studio was behind the award-winning supernatural thriller Oxenfree and its sequel, plus a mobile game tied to an episode of the Netflix series Black Mirror. Its final release, Unhinged — a roughly 30-minute first-person horror game streamable on TVs through the Netflix app — launched only about six weeks before the studio was shuttered.
The timing is striking. On 16 July 2026, barely a month before the closure, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters called Unhinged one of the company's "two most successful cloud game debuts" and cited "really solid numbers" during an investor call. GameSpot
Moonloot, the other studio closing, was founded in 2022 and based in Helsinki. Less is known about its output, but its shutdown follows a pattern that has now defined Netflix's gaming operation for over a year.
In 2024, Netflix shut down Team Blue, a start-up studio led by former Call of Duty and Halo developers that was building a high-end first-person game. Last October, Netflix closed Boss Fight studio — shortly after Peters had praised its Squid Game game to investors. In December, Netflix sold cozy-game studio Spry Fox back to its founders. The company has also laid off 85% of the staff at Refactor Games, the developer of a FIFA World Cup title. GameSpot
For all the turbulence, Netflix says gaming engagement was up 600% year-on-year as of July. The company has shifted strategy from its original approach — mobile games offered free to subscribers starting in 2021 — toward streaming games to TVs and PCs, with phones used as controllers.
What makes the cuts notable is how they mirror Netflix's broader production model. Its shows and films are largely made by external producers, and gaming now appears to be heading the same way. After these closures, Netflix retains a central gaming team that works with outside developers and one dedicated first-party studio: Helsinki-based Next Games.
For players, the immediate question is what happens to the games already on the service. Netflix has not said whether Night School's titles, including the Oxenfree games and Unhinged, will remain available. What is clear is that the company's gaming roster is contracting even as its audience grows — fewer internal studios, a tighter list of priorities, and a growing reliance on someone else doing the making.
