Netflix is cutting roughly 1,000 jobs, and its games division is among the areas affected. The October 14 layoffs cover about 6% of the company’s workforce, with most reductions in product, technology, legal and human resources. PocketGamer.biz identified a departure at Netflix-owned Next Games, although the number of gaming-related cuts remains unknown.
Netflix’s October 20 third-quarter shareholder letter offered no substantive update on gaming or cloud gaming. Three months earlier, co-CEO Greg Peters reported an elevenfold increase in monthly active cloud game players since October 2025.
Netflix Games Is Affected by the Latest Job Cuts
The latest layoffs have reached Next Games, the Finnish studio Netflix acquired in 2022. Licia Prehn, who worked in human resources there, confirmed publicly that she was leaving Netflix because of the cuts. Her departure was reported by PocketGamer.biz. Netflix hasn’t disclosed how many employees across its games division are affected.
This follows another round of job losses in August, when Netflix announced the closure of Night School Studio and Moonloot Games. Night School was known for the Oxenfree series, while Moonloot was based in Helsinki. Netflix also eliminated additional jobs across its games organization without providing a number.
Night School had only recently released Unhinged, a horror game streamed to TVs. Netflix had celebrated it as one of its most successful cloud game debuts just weeks before announcing the studio’s closure.
Netflix hasn’t said whether anyone working directly on its cloud gaming service was affected.
Netflix’s Q3 Results Leave Cloud Gaming Without an Update
Netflix gave cloud gaming considerably more attention in July. Its Q2 shareholder letter highlighted FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition and Unhinged as its two most successful cloud game debuts after both launched in June.
During the accompanying earnings interview, Peters reported that monthly active use of Netflix’s cloud games had grown elevenfold since October 2025. He also described adoption as faster than Netflix’s earlier mobile gaming rollout, with better retention.
Netflix didn’t disclose how many people were using its cloud games, so the elevenfold increase lacked an actual audience total. Still, it was one of the clearest updates the company had provided about its TV gaming efforts.
That kind of detail was missing from the October 20 Q3 shareholder letter. Netflix concentrated on its streaming business, programming, advertising and financial performance. Netflix mentioned its partnership with Take-Two for a Grand Theft Auto VI preview, but provided no update on Netflix Games’ performance or cloud gaming usage.
The letter did address the latest workforce reductions. Netflix’s fourth-quarter forecast includes a roughly 1.2-percentage-point negative impact from the job cuts. The layoffs were announced after the third quarter ended on September 30.
Without updated gaming figures, we don’t know whether Netflix’s cloud gaming audience has continued growing at the pace reported in July.
Netflix Is Still Investing in Cloud Gaming
Netflix has continued discussing plans to expand its television-based cloud gaming experience. At Bloomberg Screentime on September 30, co-CEO Ted Sarandos described mobile gaming as a path toward games streamed directly to TVs.
Sarandos was particularly interested in using smartphones as controllers. Netflix already offers that experience on supported televisions, where members can select a game and connect their phone to play. The TV and browser cloud gaming experience remains in beta, with availability depending on the country and device.
Netflix advertised an Executive Producer position for its Mainstream, Narrative & New Experiences games portfolio on October 10. It also advertised a Director of Cloud Gaming Infrastructure role focused on supporting large numbers of simultaneous users.
Both recruitment efforts preceded the latest layoffs, so they don’t establish which gaming positions or investments remain unaffected.
Netflix’s cloud games are still available on supported TVs and browsers. But after July’s big growth report and another round of job cuts, we still don’t know how many people are playing or what the reductions mean for the service’s future.
