Netflix shuts down its Squid Game mobile studio
Netflix has shut down Boss Fight Entertainment, the studio behind the mobile game Squid Game: Unleashed, according to posts from staffers on LinkedIn.
Netflix acquired Boss Fight in March 2022, with an executive saying at the time that the studio’s “extensive experience building hit games across genres will help accelerate our ability to provide Netflix members with great games wherever they want to play them.” The company has frequently touted the success of Squid Game: Unleashed, highlighting how it was the “ #1 Free Action Game in 107 countries upon release” and co-CEO Greg Peters pointing to Unleashed during this week’s earnings call as an example of the types of narrative games based on its own franchises that it wants to do more of.
But over three years after the acquisition and some changes to Netflix’s gaming strategy, Boss Fight has been closed. Netflix declined to comment.
“Hi everyone – well, word has gotten around quickly about Boss Fight’s closure,” Boss Fight co-founder and former CEO David Rippy said. “Thanks, everyone who reached out today. Rough news, for sure, but I’m very grateful for the time we had at Netflix.”
“After 10+ great years working at Boss Fight, the last few as part of Netflix, the time has come for the studio to close down,” David Luehmann, a director of game development at the studio, said in a post. “I am very proud of all the people, work, and games we’ve released. I wish you could see what we had cooking!”
The shutdown follows persistent layoffs across the industry, including cut jobs at Dune: Awakening developer Funcom despite that game’s success and layoffs at Cloud Chamber, the studio making the next title in the BioShock franchise.
Last year, Netflix closed its AAA game studio before it ever released a game. Netflix’s next big gaming initiative is focused around party games you can play on your TV using your phone as a controller, and Peters said this week that the company is ‘judiciously’ expanding into interactive experiences.