Netflix has spent the last five years attempting to expand its chokehold on the film and television industry into the video game space, but it’s had limited success. Today, Game File reports that the streaming giant is receding from the gaming world a little more by closing two studios: Moonloot, which had yet to release a game, and Night School, known for its work on Oxenfree and Afterparty. Netflix is also cutting staff from its internal team, though it “declined to say how many jobs were being lost” when speaking to Game File.
Moonloot is a Helsinki-based team, founded in September of 2022 and led by Marko Lastikka, who had experience working at Zynga and EA in the years prior. Unfortunately, Moonloot never got the chance to release a game.
Meanwhile, Night School made a name for itself long before its Netflix acquisition, releasing Oxenfree in 2016 and Afterparty in 2019. Under Netflix, it also released Oxenfree II: Lost Signals in 2023, Thronglets in 2025, and Unhinged, which launched very recently, on June 30. Game File reports that Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters praised Unhinged in a recent investor call, but given today’s news, it seems Netflix was still dissatisfied with Night School.
The indie studio’s acquisition in 2021 was one of Netflix’s earliest investments in the world of video games, so closing the studio is a significant step. Game File says Netflix is choosing to focus its future efforts on “kids gaming, party games, story-driven fare and games with mainstream hooks, such as a recently released FIFA game.”
Studio closures and mass layoffs have sadly become commonplace in the video game industry over the past several years. Earlier this week, Directive 8020 developer Supermassive had its third wave of layoffs since 2024. Earlier this year, Battlefield Studios had layoffs despite releasing the best-selling game of 2025; Bungie was decimated and Destiny 2 released its final update, and Xbox parted ways with several of its development studios, laying off thousands. That last instance, at least, recently received pushback; just yesterday, Xbox’s new CEO visited Bethesda and was greeted by a giant inflatable rat.
If you want to look back on Night School’s great games, check out our reviews for Oxenfree, Afterparty, and Oxenfree II: Lost Signals.
