Gaming was once seen as the next logical step for the world’s largest streaming media company, Netflix. There was excitement not just by gamers but also by big-wig investors on Wall Street. However, three years later after many successful mobile games and studio acquisitions, Netflix has shuttered its only Triple-A studio. Let’s discuss why this is a concern – particularly for Netflix’s cloud gaming efforts.
We’ve seen this story before: huge tech brand promises to disrupt gaming via cloud technology and first-party AAA games. A couple years later, the studios are shuttered, and we are left wondering about the future of the cloud gaming service.
The Shuttered Studio Had a Wide Pool of Talent
Let’s start with arguably the most damning part. The team of developers and artists who were housed within Studio Blue before Netflix closed the studio had amazing talent. These were developers who worked on Overwatch, Gears of War, God of War, and Halo Infinite. And, these were just some of the dozens of workers within the team who were employed at this now-shuttered studio. It amounts to one of the saddest closures of recent years, as we never even got a glimpse of what was being worked on. All we know is that there were many talented developers who worked at this studio and are now jobless.
Netflix Had Record Revenue In The Same Quarter:
In the past quarter Netflix analysts expected Netflix to report quarterly revenue of $9.77 billion, but Netflix exceeded those expectations by bringing in a record $9.83 billion. Netflix has also confirmed it expects December’s quarterly revenue to be 14.7% higher than December 2023 revenue. The forecast for Netflix’s 2024 revenue is $38.9 billion, and the forecast for 2025 is between $43 billion and $44 billion. I bring this up because these numbers show that Netflix could have easily afforded to fund Studio Blue’s debut project. But a decision was made instead that the game would be nonviable. So, the project was canceled and the studio was disbanded before it had even a chance.
While a AAA game may not have been exclusive to Netflix, it likely would have been the linchpin in their cloud gaming offering. This would have showcased Netflix ability to deliver AAA quality games to everyone/everywhere on all their devices.
Former Netflix Games CEO Is Now In Charge Of Netflix Games’ Generative AI
Now let’s get on with the final point: the rise of generative AI and how this could have factored into Netflix’s decision to close Studio Blue. Generative AI has the ability to generate images, videos, audio, and even has the ability to replicate the voices of well-known celebrities.
Many media companies like Disney and Netflix are using generative AI to cut costs on their huge slates of content. Netflix seems to be in the process of using generative AI to help slash budgets for its games as well. Generative AI is looked down upon by a lot of artists and designers as it leads to content that lacks a human touch and puts the previously mentioned artists and designers out of jobs. Netflix most probably confirmed the existence of their new Vice President of Generative AI for Games to hype investors. But for actual gamers, there’s a lot of disappointment. As gamers (and cloud gamers in particular), we look forward to games that innovate and break new down both technologically and in terms of narratives and gameplay.
Generative AI can certainly learn from past successes in different mediums and re-arrange the pieces, but its ability to produce something truly new is questionable. Are you disappointed by the news that Studio Blue has been shuttered? Do you think Netflix will still be a major player in Cloud Gaming? Let us know on social media.
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